


Hot as Fire

by Aerle



Series: Fire Universe [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Arson, Fire, Friendship, M/M, Romance, Self-Discovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-13
Updated: 2015-01-10
Packaged: 2018-02-17 06:56:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 120,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2300576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aerle/pseuds/Aerle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the restaurant where Sanji works burns down and his wallet is stolen, a stranger takes him home. Zoro immediataly has a crush on the foulmouthed chef, but it appears Sanji is only interested in being friends. After a friend of Zoro is being arrested for burning down the restaurant, Sanji and Zoro see each other more often.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All chapters are beta'ed by Vergina-spva and Thérèse
> 
> The story is set about a year after the beginning of 'Reborn in Fire'

Rain was pouring down on him. People walked hastily by, wanting to go home as fast as possible. Just like him.

Sanji sighed. He was sitting on a bus bench, completely drenched by now. A bus had come by, but he had motioned the driver to drive on. He didn’t have any money. His wallet got stolen, a perfect ending for a perfect day. He hid his face in his hands. Water dripped out of his blond locks. Everyone had bad days, but his seemed to be the worst. He might as well stay here. It wasn’t like he could get wetter. He bit his lip, trying to keep it together. Only when he came home he could break down, though he couldn’t bring himself to get up and begin the long walk to his house.

But all of a sudden the thick drops of water stopped landing on him, though he could still see them fall down on the street. Slowly he looked up. Before him stood a pair of heavy boots. His gaze slit up to the strong looking legs standing in them, and up the muscular body. Two dark piercing eyes gazed down on him and he had to lower his gaze. His throat went dry and he couldn’t say anything. A hand reached out and without thinking he grabbed it, feeling the calloused skin on his own. Without saying anything the man started walking and he followed, trying to stay under the green umbrella.

He lived on the other side of town and he didn’t know this part of the city too well, but still he got the feeling they went around in a circle for a while before they stopped in front of an old building. The man gave him the umbrella to hold, while he opened the door.

It was warm inside the house. The muscular man walked in front of him to the small living room. He sat down on his knees and started to make a fire in the fireplace. After that he ran upstairs. Within a few seconds he was back down again and threw dry clothes at him, a T-shirt and sweatpants. Then he walked over to the kitchen. Before he went in he turned around. “I don’t mind if you take off your underwear,” he said in a surprisingly deep voice.

Sanji nodded, still not able to say a word. He wasn’t sure what had happened. One moment he was sitting in the rain feeling sorry for himself and the next he was standing in a stranger’s house about to take his clothes off. To putt on dry ones of course – he was soaked – but still. Why had he come with this strange man? Because he was the only one to show him some kindness when it felt like the worst day of his life? Because he was cold and wet?

Slowly he started to unbutton his shirt and loosened his tie. One by one his clothes were discarded to the floor. His suit was ruined by the rain anyway. The other man hadn’t come back yet, probably to give him some privacy. He hesitated for a bit, but then he let his underpants drop on the floor. For a moment he enjoyed the heat of the fire on his naked skin. But then he realised he was in a stranger’s apartment, naked, and there wasn’t a naked woman beside him.

He heard some noise from the kitchen. Hastily he grabbed the sweatpants and put them on, just when the other man came walking in holding two mugs. Sanji picked up the T-shirt, the pants almost slipping of his slim hips. The sweet scent of chocolate filled his nostrils as one of the mugs was pressed in his hands. The stranger sat down on the worn-out couch while he stared into the fire.

Sanji took a small sip. The sweet chocolate was dominated by the burning sensation of rum. Actually, there was more rum in the hot chocolate than chocolate, but the beverage did warm him up from the inside.

“Thanks,” Sanji said softly. He kept silent for a moment. “For everything,” he added.

He got a grunt as answer. Both of the men sipped from their hot chocolate in silence. Despite the burning feeling of the rum, the beverage and the warmth of the fire made Sanji sleepy. He hadn’t had much sleep last night, but he refused to fall asleep in a stranger’s house. He had to think of a way to stay awake. Talking should do the trick. “I’m Sanji.”

“Zoro.” It sounded more like a grunt.

Another silence filled the room. Sanji took the time to look around. The furniture was simple, only the basic things were there. The couch was old and worn and the table looked as if it could collapse at any moment. The rest of the room was pretty much empty. The only things that seemed to be placed with care were the three swords that hung above the mantelpiece.

Sanji forced himself to break the silence, as he was feeling a little uncomfortable. “Er, thank you for getting me out of the rain.”

“Sure.”

The blond man got the urge to kick the man. All his answers sounded as grunts. He wasn’t even trying to make conversation.

“So why did you?” he pressed with clenched jaws.

Zoro shrugged. “You looked like you needed a friendly gesture.”

“Don’t take it the wrong way. I’m not helpless or anything. I just had a bad day.”

The other man snorted. “Oh yeah? And what can bring a tough guy like you down, then?”

It was the first thing he said that sounded remotely interested, so Sanji decided to take the bait. He wanted to get it off his chest anyway, and now the guy asked for it! And maybe it was better to talk to a stranger, as he wouldn’t see him after tonight.

“Fine, you want to know? First of all, yesterday my girlfriend broke up with me, without giving me as much as a reason why. Then last night I got called in the middle of the night. My restaurant was on fire. Well, it’s not my restaurant, I am… was head chef. But the owner is on vacation, so I have to take care of everything. My car broke down, so a friend had to drive me. By the time I got to the restaurant, it was already almost burned to the ground. They told me to go home.

Then this morning I got called by an arson inspector, if I could come to the restaurant. As I live on the other side of town and didn’t want to disturb my friends, I decided to take the bus. In all haste, I forgot my phone. When I arrived, the arson inspector was already waiting. He explained to me what had happened. Because it was arson. Arson! Can you believe it? Someone set my restaurant deliberately on fire!” Brusquely he went with his hand through his still damp hair, wishing his cigarettes weren’t ruined by the rain. “On top of that, my wallet got stolen, so I couldn’t go home. And now I’m sitting with a guy I don’t know drinking something that can only be described as hot rum with chocolate flavour!” He felt a little bad for insulting the man on the couch. Though he had wanted to get everything of his chest, but he had been rambling on for minutes now. It must be the rum loosening his tongue.

Zoro stayed quiet for a moment. He let his head fall back to the backrest of the couch. “That sounds like a pretty shitty day.”

“Yeah…” Sanji looked at the floor. “Sorry about that last bit. I didn’t mean – Is your hair green?” He sat down on the couch and stared at the short, spiky hair.

The other man seemed to be a bit thrown off guard by the sudden change of topic. Embarrassed, he covered his hair with his hand. “Stop staring at me, curly brow.”

The blond grinned. For some reason he was feeling a little better, despite the fact he had just been insulted. “Well, whatever. I’m getting hungry. You want me to make something?”

The green haired man shrugged. “Kitchen is over there.”

Sanji walked in the direction the man pointed. In the kitchen his mouth fell open. He had never seen such a mess in one kitchen. The counter was full of wrappers from take-out food and the counter itself looked like it hadn’t seen sunlight in a while. Despite the fact that the stove could not have been used very often, it looked like the things that had been there were exploded. When he opened the fridge, he only saw some beer bottles and some leftovers of the take-out. On the whole, just looking at the kitchen pained his heart. Sighing he opened some of the cabinets and found some cans of food, with a thick layer of dust on them.

A while later he walked into the room with two plates in his hands and two bottles of beer under his arm. “You really have to do some grocery shopping,” he said while handing Zoro one of the plates.

“What’s the matter? I thought you were some amazing chef?” the other man said teasing.

“I am, but even I need more than beer to cook with.”

They ate in silence. Every once in a while, Sanji glared at Zoro. Even though he had little to work with, this food had to be better than greasy take-out. But if he was enjoying the food, the green haired man didn’t show it. It bugged him a little.

When they almost finished dinner, the phone rang. Zoro made no attempt to pick up, so the machine took it.

“Hey Zoro, it’s Ace,” a male voice said. “I thought you said you would be home tonight… O wait, I get it, you’ve got a date over.” Now the voice sounded teasing. “Is he…”

Sanji had never seen someone jump up so fast. Like a cat jumps it’s prey, Zoro dove to the phone and grabbed it before the guy at the end of the line could say anything else.

Zoro took the phone to the hallway. “What the hell, Ace!”

“So you are at home,” his friend grinned. “And hearing how annoyed you are, you do have a date over.”

“It’s not a date!” Zoro sighed and tried to explain as best as he could. Actually, he didn’t understand it quite himself. When he had seen the blond sitting at the bus station, he had genuinely wanted to make a nice gesture. To buy him a cup of coffee in a restaurant nearby and give him his umbrella. That would be it. But when the man had looked up with his beautiful blue eyes, Zoro just wanted to take him home. He hadn’t expected the man to follow him, let alone undress himself in Zoro’s living room. It had been really hard not to peek. But all of it had given him the idea this could be a very interesting evening. When the man had talked about his girlfriend, even if it was his ex-girlfriend now, Zoro’s stomach twisted. He told himself it didn’t have to mean anything, that the beautiful blond could be bi.

Of course he didn’t tell Ace about all this. He only mentioned he had helped someone out, and that it was in fact not a date. His friend tried to fish what Sanji looked like. Zoro answered as shortly as possible and left out many adjectives he wanted to add. He kept the description at blond guy with blue eyes, instead of a gorgeous blond with beautiful blue eyes and legs to die for. He cut off Ace’s series of questions and after a short goodbye he hung up, ignoring the teasing remarks of his friend. When he entered the room, Sanji looked up.

“Sorry about that.” He put the phone back.

The blond snickered. “It’s your house. By the way, what’s with all the take-out food?”

“I’m usually back late and I don’t like to cook,” he shrugged.

Sanji shook his head in mock disappointment. But then he said: “That still is no excuse to have no other food. And to live like a pig. I’ve taken the liberty to clean up somewhat, because the fridge started to smell like something died in there. And you should eat something healthy every once in a while.”

Zoro stared at the man who was currently scolding him. “Your food‘s good,” he mumbled.

That stopped Sanji’s ranting. “Thanks,” he said. “It was a challenge. But if you like this, you should taste it when I got ingredients to work with.”

Zoro nodded vaguely and took the last bite of his food. Did Sanji just invite him to taste his cooking? Did that mean a date? Or was he half forgotten about his restaurant and encouraging him to stop by? He opened his mouth, to ask what this was and whether he was bi or not, but he didn’t want to offend the guy, or scare him away.

Sanji raised an eyebrow seeing he wanted to say something, when the phone rang once more. A bit relieved he didn’t have to explain himself, but also afraid Ace had decided to harass him again, he ran to the phone and picked up with: “What?” He sighed deep when he recognised the female voice.

Sanji made himself comfortable in front of the fire and listened to Zoro’s half of the conversation. The green haired man sounded annoyed. When he hung up, he went with his hand through his hair irritated. “It looks like I have to go.”

“Why?” Sanji frowned.

“That stupid witch wants me to help move stuff around. And since I owe her some money, I can’t refuse or she will raise my debt.”

The blond raised a curly eyebrow. “You shouldn’t talk about a woman like that.” It almost sounded threatening. “You should feel privileged she invites you to her house.”

Zoro didn’t really know what to think anymore. The chef sent him mixed signals, purposely or not. “If you knew her, you would talk the same about her.”

Sanji straightened. “I would never talk about a woman like that!”

“Whatever. I have to go. Feel free to use my shower.” He was just putting his jacket on when something came to mind. “Or do you want to go home?”

The chef looked at the clock on the wall. “Well, the busses don’t go anymore in this shitty town and it’s still pouring outside. So I would like to take you up on your offer.”

“Bathroom is upstairs, first door on the left.” The other man grabbed an umbrella and left.

Sanji strolled upstairs and opened the door Zoro pointed out, only to find the man’s bedroom. Shaking his head, he closed the door and looked for the bathroom. When he found the right room, he took a deep breath, afraid of what he might find.

Fortunately, the bathroom was a lot cleaner than the kitchen. He turned on the shower and took off the borrowed clothes he had on. The hot spray felt good against his skin. He wasn’t very cold anymore thanks to the dry clothes and the warm food, but the idea of washing away this day was comforting.

After he felt clean enough, he turned off the shower. Dripping with water he searched for a towel. Under the sink was a drawer where indeed lay towels, but when he lifted one he took a step back.

In the drawer lay a magazine. He had one in his own bathroom. He didn’t really like them, but sometimes he needed it after a stressful day.

But the one laying here wasn’t filled with beautiful women. Instead of that, it was full of naked men. Immediately he closed the drawer. Zoro was gay.

He had nothing against gay men, he just didn’t understand how a man could not like women. With their soft curves and sweet laughs… But now he started to doubt Zoro’s motive. Sanji knew he was handsome, when he had to fill in for a waiter at the restaurant girls swooned over him. And when men flirted with him, he flirted right back. That was mostly because that shitty old man had threatened to fire him if he kept ignoring the male costumers, but also because flirting was in his blood.

But that didn’t mean he was gay or even bi. He was straight. Did Zoro think this was a date, like his friend said? The guy, Ace, had asked if “he” was something. Sanji just assumed he had misheard. Apparently he hadn’t.

Slowly he began to dry himself off. He just needed to make clear that he wasn’t interested, without hurting the man’s feelings. After all, he had been very hospitable.

* * *

When Zoro came back an hour or so later, Sanji was sitting on the couch reading a book, the only cookbook he owned. The blond’s hair was still damp from the shower. Quickly, he repressed the imaging of a naked cook that bubbled up in his brain. When the man looked up, Zoro saw he was wearing reading glasses, which made him look smart and even hotter. One of the glasses was concealed by a curtain of blond hair. His mouth went dry.

The blond took off his glasses. “I was surprised to find a cookbook in your collection. A good one, at that. Not very much used though, there was a lot of dust on it.” The man snickered. “You’ve got a lot of martial arts books.”

“I like to keep in shape,” Zoro grunted, taking off his jacket.

“So, how did it go with your friend?” Sanji sucked on one of the arms of his glasses, looking rather seductive. Zoro couldn’t take his eyes off the blond’s mouth. He had probably no idea how sexy he looked.

He forced himself to speak and tore his eyes away. “She’s not exactly my friend. But she just wanted me to move a bookcase, so it wasn’t that much work.”

“I should hope so, seeing how muscular you are.” Sanji bit his lip. He didn’t want to look like he was flirting. Then he stopped biting his lip, realizing it looked even more flirtatious. He needed to make clear he wasn’t interested in anything more than friendship. Sighing, he asked: “Zoro, can I ask you something?”

The green haired man threw his jacket on a chair and sat down next to the chef. “What?”

After taking a deep breath he started: “When I was in your bathroom – which is on the right by the way, not the left – I wasn’t snooping around or something, I was just looking for a towel…”

Zoro raised his eyebrows. “You’re babbling.”

Hesitating for a moment, Sanji closed his eyes. “I found your magazine.”

The other man’s eyes slightly widened. He swallowed hard. “That’s not a question,” he finally said.

“Well,” Sanji resumed uncomfortable, “do you think this is a date?”

“Do your dates usually go like this?” Zoro avoided the question.

The blond looked at the floor. “Well, no. But I usually don’t date men.”

“Usually?”

“Well, never. And to be honest, I don’t feel any need to start now.” Carefully he looked at the other man.

Zoro sighed. He knew it. The cook was as straight as they get. So he just laughed it off. “You think I pick up random strangers off the street to date them?”

Sanji shifted uncomfortable in his seat. “Well, not random…”

“Oh? Don’t we have a high opinion of ourselves?”

The chef flushed. “I’ve been told I’m handsome…”

“Did someone also tell you you have a freakish eyebrow?”

The other man’s cheeks were still red, now with anger. “What’s that, marimo?”

“What did you call me, dart brow?”

Threatening they looked at each other. The yelling of insults became a physical fight. Sanji avoided Zoro’s fist by bending backwards. Then he lifted his leg, barely stopped in time by Zoro’s strong hands. A smile played across his face. “That’s some nice kick you’ve got there, curly brow.”

“There aren’t many men who can stop me, so I guess you’re not bad either, moss head.” Slowly he put his foot down and they both sank on the couch again. “Sorry, about just now. I thought you were hitting on me.”

Zoro shrugged and grinned. “Well, you couldn’t know I have taste.”

Sanji scowled at him, but then he stood up. “I’m thirsty. You want something?”

“I’m glad you feel at home here,” Zoro said sarcastically.

The cook shrugged and walked to the kitchen. Zoro stared after him and sighed. Not only had the blond the nicest ass he had ever seen, he was strong as well. And not into guys.

Sanji pocked his head around the corner. “Hey, I found a bottle of wine. Mind if I open it?”

Zoro frowned. “Wine?”

The blond walked back with a bottle and two lemonade glasses, as his host didn’t own any wine glasses. “Yeah, a nice one too. And here you have me thinking you didn’t have any taste.”

With furrowed eyebrows the green haired man looked at the bottle. “Oh right. I got it from someone for my birthday.”

“That explains a lot,” the blond said grinning. “But I’ll put it back if you…”

“Nah, it’s fine. I don’t drink this shit often anyway.”

The cook looked at him offended. “This isn’t ‘shit’. It’s a great wine. I can’t believe a barbarian like you even has it.” Still, he poured the liquid in the two glasses and handed the other man one.

A few glasses later Sanji could feel the alcohol starting to take effect. It made him feel a bit drowsy. He probably shouldn’t have opened the wine. He had a very low tolerance of alcohol and he already had had some rum and a bottle of beer. But this was damn fine wine and he wasn’t going to let Zoro drown it like beer. This kind of wine should by drunk by people who appreciated it. His eyes flicked to the other man, but he didn’t seem effected be the alcohol at all. It pissed him off a bit, so he tried to behave as normal as possible.

He took another sip from his half empty glass. “So, why is your hair really green? Do you dye it or is it natural?”

Zoro grinned. “Would you like to find out?”

The blond gave him a questioning look. “How would you…” His expression became shocked and brusquely he shook his head. “No way I’m looking there!” To emphasise his words he gestured to Zoro’s crotch with the hand he held his glass in. Wine poured over the edge and on the other man’s white T-shirt.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry! We should pour some white wine on it. Oh wait, you don’t have that. Would beer work?”

The green haired man couldn’t help but grin. He had noticed Sanji’s red cheeks. “You babble when you’re drunk, too.”

The chef wanted to gesture with his hand again, but hastily put the glass in the other. “I’m not drunk. Maybe a bit tipsy. Besides, shouldn’t you put on a clean shirt?”

The other man scratched the back of his head. “I’m also a bit behind with my laundry. You’re wearing my last clean one.”

“Then take it.” Sanji started to pull the shirt over his head before Zoro could stop him. And once the blond started stripping, he didn’t want to stop him. The material revealed a creamy white skin covering a slightly muscular chest. The man stared at the hot body in front of him. And he could, since Sanji was struggling with his clumsy drunk hands to get the shirt over his head. The cook offered him the shirt and he took it hesitating. He probably should tell the man to put it back on, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. The material was still warm from the blond’s body.

The chef emptied his glass and lay down on the carpet in front of the fire. He stretched himself, reminding Zoro somewhat of a cat. A very sexy cat, that is. The sweatpants he was wearing slid down a little because of the movements, uncovering a few blond curls.

Zoro grunted. The blond probably had no idea how sexy he looked right now. His cheeks were slightly flushed from the wine and his hair was ruffled. Unable to hold himself back, the green haired man slid off the couch and sat down next to Sanji, throwing some wood on the fire to hide his motive.

“Life sucks,” the chef said suddenly.

“C’me on, it’s not that bad, is it? You’ve had a rough day, but it’s not the end of the world. You’re just stressed out.” Everybody got stressed every once in a while. What did Zoro do when he got anxious? Drinking, sure, but that seemed to make things worse for the cook. What else then? “You just need to be… relieved.” He couldn’t believe he just said that. Was he taking advantage of the drunk man in front of his fire?

The cook shot up. “What are you implying?”

“I can help you with that.” Zoro’s voice sounded deep and husky.

Sanji stared at him, but not shocked as the green haired man had expected. The alcohol had made his eyes a bit cloudy. Slowly, he lay back and closed his eyes.

Zoro ran his hand over his leg, carefully watching the man. The blond didn’t protest, even when the hand slowly began to pull down the sweatpants. More blond curls were revealed.

Zoro’s breath became ragged, his mouth was completely dry. Thank God for alcohol. He continued to pull down the pants, until the cook lay naked on the carpet. He let his eyes linger over the hot body beneath him. He stretched out his arm, stopping himself just in time. He had promised to relieve Sanji, not to touch him everywhere. Or lick him. He pushed away those thoughts.

He swallowed hard as he reached out and slowly started to stroke the cook’s cock.

Sanji moaned as he got hard in Zoro’s hand. His eyes flung open when the hand removed itself after some pleasurable strokes and was replaced with something hot and wet. Was that his–

A moan escaped his mouth. There was no way a girl could take him that deep. Not that he would ever allow a woman to so something that filthy. But Zoro was a guy…

He knew he should care more about that fact, but at this moment he couldn’t bring himself to it. His mind went blanc and he buckled his hips.

The green haired man wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked down on the naked blond on the carpet. He had his eyes closed and was panting, covered with a thin layer of sweat. Zoro swallowed hard. Taking a deep breath he threw another log on the fire and silently he left the room.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Sanji woke up the next morning, immediately aware of a throbbing headache. Without opening his eyes, he yawned and stretched his arms, to find that one of his hands smacked against something soft. Something that shouldn’t be in his bed.

His eyes flung open and he straightened. He was definitely not in his own room. Slowly, the events of last night came back to him. So it hadn’t been a dream after all. But he couldn’t remember falling asleep on the couch…

He let his eyes wander around Zoro’s living room. He saw his own cloths lying on the ground before the fire place to dry. The fire had gone out a while ago. The last thing he remembered he had been lying there. Beside his suit lay the sweatpants he had been wearing last night. Shouldn’t he still have that on?

Sanji gasped. Even that part had been real?!

Well, he had known that for a while, but he blamed the relaxed state of his body to a good night sleep. But he was still naked, lying under a sheet he knew for sure hadn’t been there before.

He tried to get his breath under control. This wasn’t the time to panic. So, Zoro had sucked him off. No, he had _let_ the man suck him off. A man had pleasured him. A shiver went down his spine. Taking slow and deep breaths, he put on his own clothes. His suit was ruined by the rain, but he hardly noticed.

Heavy footsteps came down the stairs. Sanji stiffened while fixing his tie. _Keep it cool._ It had been a drunken mistake, from him anyway. Maybe Zoro felt the same…

“Morning,” the green haired man said, entering the living room. His hair was damp from the shower.

“M-morning.” The cook swallowed hard. “L-look Zoro, about last night…” He cursed himself for stuttering. “I was really drunk and depressed and stuff… I’m not gay.”

“I know.” Zoro looked in the fridge and frowned seeing it almost empty.

Sanji raised a curly eyebrow. “And I’m not bi either.”

“Yes, you mentioned that.”

“Then what the hell was that last night?” Sanji shrieked. In a very manly way of course.

The other man shrugged. “Just doing you a favour, I guess.”

“F–” Sanji almost choked on the word. “Doing me a favour? You violated me!”

“I didn’t hear you complain.”

“I was drunk!”

“Then sue me.”

The cook stood stunned. How could Zoro be so casual about this? “Maybe I will. After all, you took advantage of me!”

“Yeah, ‘cause I like having a stranger’s dick in my mouth,” Zoro said sarcastically.

“Don’t make it sound like I forced you. It was all your idea! I never asked you to touch me!”

“Are you sure?”

Sanji opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again. He hadn’t, had he? He knew he could become very affectionate when he was drunk, but he wouldn’t go as far as to ask a _man_ to please him?

But when he saw the smirk on Zoro’s face, something inside him snapped. “Don’t make me doubt my memory, you bastard!” He lifted his leg and attacked the green haired man.

Zoro could barely avoid his angry kick. He had poked the bear, and now he had to face it. Sanji’s fierce attacks didn’t stop. The other man stumbled backwards, trying to avoid the deadly kicks. His eyes flashed to the mantelpiece. There was only one way he stood a chance against the furious cook…

As the chef planned a new attack, Zoro used the split second he had to push the man backwards. It was more the surprise then the force which made Sanji stumble. While the chef regained his balance, the green haired man grabbed the swords – which were not just for decoration. In a blink of the eye he had one in each hand and the third in his mouth. Sanji raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. For a second they just stared at each other, but then the fight started all over again – though this time more fair.

Zoro had expected the chef to be more careful this time, as he was holding razor-sharp swords, but the blond just avoided his slashes, limber as he was.

The fight could have go on for hours, had not Zoro’s stomach made a growling noise. Sanji’s leg stopped mid-air. The swordsman looked at him suspiciously and slowly, but highly alert, they both lowered their weapons.

The chef had been taught – well, it was beaten into him – never to let go anyone hungry. Not even an annoying, arrogant marimo. So he sighed. “Okay, maybe I’m overreacting. I just…” He stopped. “Never mind. I’ll go make breakfast.”

Zoro looked at him surprised, but then he shrugged. While Sanji started to scrape the leftovers together to make a meal, the green haired man turned to the fireplace. It was cold already, but he couldn’t help but smile. The events of last night had given him some fun things to think about in the shower… The sound of the doorbell startled him. He frowned and opened the door.

A bright freckled face greeted him with a wide grin, framed by raven black hair. “Hi Zoro.”

“Ace! What the hell?” The green haired man quickly looked over his shoulder and took a step outside, closing the door a bit behind him. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, you were so mysterious on the phone, I thought you might wanted to talk now.”

Something fell in the kitchen. Zoro closed his eyes, but his friend had heard it as well. Ace’s grin became even wider. “So the hot blond is still here. Zoro, you dirty boy!” He pushed the green haired man out of the way and ran inside, closely followed by the swordsman. “I never called him ho–!”

He stopped mid sentence when he arrived in the kitchen. Sanji just rose after picking up the bowl he had dropped. Ace was shameless checking out the man’s ass.

“Hello,” the blond said surprised.

“Hi, I’m Ace.” The black haired man grinned at him. He was muscular, though not as much as Zoro. Also his skin was more pale.

“You’re the guy from the phone.”

Ace turned around and smirked at Zoro. “He remembers me.”

“It was last night,” the man answered with clenched teeth.

Sanji looked from Ace to Zoro, his eyebrows cocked. “I was just making breakfast, but since Moss-head over there barely had enough food to feed one, I can’t really offer you something, Ace.”

“Don’t call me that, Curly-brow!”

Some more insults were thrown back and forth, but their fight was interrupted by Ace’s uncontrollable laughing. Surprised the two men looked at him. “Moss-head? Curly-brow? You guys sure are something,” Ace said between laughs.

“Don’t make us sound like a couple!” Sanji’s cheeks were red with anger. With a bang he placed a plate with food on the table. “Eat, Marimo.”

“What’s a marimo?” Ace asked curiously, when he saw that Zoro was obviously insulted.

“A ball of seaweed.” The blond smirked. “I learned that when I was studying Japanese cooking.”

That explanation caused Ace to laugh again. “That’s a new one!”

Clenching his teeth, Zoro sat down. It annoyed him that Sanji’s new nickname for him amused Ace so much. Biting back his anger he took a mouthful. And then froze. That damn cook could even make leftovers of leftovers taste good!

He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Ace say: “That’s like two blocks from my house. I can take you if you like.”

“No way!” His fist slammed into the table.

Ace snickered. “Possessive much?”

Zoro ignored him. “I can give you money for the bus.”

But Sanji shook his head. “No thanks. You really have done too much for me.” He gave the green haired man a piercing look. “If Ace lives close by, I rather take that offer.”

Franticly, Zoro thought of ways to convince the blond to take the bus home, or better, stay with him. But Ace’s proposal was too reasonable. He sighed deeply.

His friend was already at the door. “We wanna get going then. I left my brother at home alone with a full fridge.”

Zoro snickered. It wouldn’t be full anymore when Ace got back.

“I hope you’re not afraid of riding a motorcycle?”

Sanji tilted his head in a cocky way. “Do I look like I’m scared of anything?”

Ace just grinned.

The blond turned to Zoro. “Listen, thanks for… everything.” He hesitated for a moment, but then he grabbed a pen and scribbled something down on a piece of paper, which he handed to Zoro. “I hate owing people. So, if you think of something I can do to repay you, please call. But I will not do the exact same, you understand?” Then he followed Ace into the hall. By the door he stopped and turned around. “Oh, and Marimo? Buy some shitty food.”

Outside Ace gave the blond a spare helmet. A bit jealous, Zoro watched how Sanji wrapped his arms around his friend’s waist. But then a thought struck him. If Ace brought the cook home, that meant his friend knew where he lived. Zoro looked at the note in his hand. Yeah, he would definitely see the blond again.

* * *

Sanji clung to Ace, as the man accelerated. They went from zero to the maximum speed – or maybe even faster, the cook wasn’t sure – within a few seconds. Ace was obviously very accustomed at riding the motorcycle and without much effort they zigzagged between cars. Sanji peered over the black haired man’s shoulder and froze when he saw a traffic light in front of them turn red. Ace didn’t seem to notice and the chef closed his eyes, mumbling a quick prayer. But at the last second the other man hit the breaks and just in time they came to a stop.

“Do you always drive like this?” Sanji asked panting.

Ace smirked. “Why? Ya scared?”

“As if. But I prefer not to die.”

The other man grinned at him and at that moment the traffic light turned green. Sanji wrapped his arms around Ace again, just in time as he accelerated.

When they came to a stop in front of his house, Sanji got off the motorcycle as quickly as he could and took off his helmet. Fixing his hair, he said: “Thanks for the ride.”

As Ace showed no intention of leaving, the blond turned around to him, looking puzzled. “Shouldn’t you stop your brother from eating everything?”

“I did just bring you home. And I’m really in the mood for some coffee. You wouldn’t want my nice gesture to go unreturned?” Ace blinked his eyelashes innocently in a way Sanji had thought only girls could. He sighed. No doubt the man had overheard his conversation with Zoro, but as he called upon Sanji’s honour, the blond couldn’t ignore him.

“Would you like some coffee then?”

Ace jumped of his motorcycle and after pulling the keys from the engine, he followed the chef inside the house.

As expected, the blond found everything in the same way as he left it yesterday morning. “Make yourself at home,” he said to Ace before going into the kitchen to make coffee.

When he returned, the other man had taken a seat at the dinner table and smiled at him. Sanji smiled back hesitantly and poured the coffee into two mugs.

Ace added three spoons of sugar and took a sip, seemingly not effected by the high temperature. He sighed contently. “That’s just what I needed.”

The smile on Sanji’s face became genuine now that once again his cooking skills had made someone happy, even if it was just coffee.

“This is really good. Much better than the stuff out off the machine at work.”

The cook frowned. “I should hope so. This is real Italian coffee.”

A comfortable silence fell as both sipped from their beverage. Then Ace asked: “So why were you at Zoro’s place? As you both were firmly of the opinion that it wasn’t a date.”

“It wasn’t!” Sanji sighed and started to tell his story. Of course, he left out the bit after he had his first glass of wine. He just hoped Zoro would be as discrete as well.

Ace seemed to muse for a bit. “I heard about that fire, but I wasn’t on duty that night. I’m a fireman,” he explained after seeing Sanji’s puzzled face. “I heard it was really bad, they had been trying to put it out for hours.”

The blond nodded. “And there wasn’t much left,” he said in a sad tone. “I’m not looking forward to tell the owner.”

As if on cue, his phone, which lay on the couch, started to ring. Sanji checked the screen for the caller ID and cursed softly. “Sorry, I’ve got to take this,” he apologised to Ace. The man smiled and nodded.

The chef took a deep breath and answered. “Hey.”

“What the hell have you done to my restaurant?! I can’t leave you in charge for two weeks?” a familiar and very angry voice shouted in his ear.

Sanji did his best not to get worked up. “Calm down, you shitty old fart! How did you even hear?”

“The newspaper. Where the hell have you been, lil’ eggplant? I’ve been trying to call you all morning!”

“I was out and forgot my phone,” Sanji answered truthfully. He looked at Ace. He had expected the man to leave after he finished his coffee, but the man just poured himself another cup and smiled at the chef with his innocent smile.

“You would even forget your own head if it wasn’t stuck to you neck, string bean! Honestly, what did you do? Let one of those shitty cigarettes burn the place down?”

Now the blond got angry as well. He walked into the kitchen and closed the door, though he doubted that would prevent Ace from overhearing. “Why do you naturally assume it is my fault? I’m not as stupid as the rest of those people that call themselves chefs!”

“So what then, hm? Did one of you idiots leave the stove on? Was it Patty? Or was Carne toying with a crème-brulée burner again? Who of those shitheads do I have to kick to the other side of the globe?”

Sanji waited until Zeff was finished ranting. The man tried to hide it, but he sounded very emotional. That was hardly strange. The Baratie had been the life’s work of the old man. He had put everything into it. The restaurant had already been there when he adopted Sanji when he was still a young boy. When he was ten he started helping out doing the dishes. Despite Zeff being his adoptive father, the man had never gone easy on him. He started out as busboy, working his way up to head chef, but without any help from his old man, besides what he had been taught about cooking at home. His best memories were from the Baratie, filled with laughter and fighting.

And now everything they worked so hard for was gone. It as hard for him to hold himself together and he knew Zeff felt the same. The old man tried to hide it by ranting on and blaming the incompetent chefs. When he paused his angry outburst to breathe, Sanji took his chance. “It wasn’t anybody’s fault, old man, not ours at least. It was arson. Someone deliberately burned down the Baratie.”

When it stayed silent at the other end of the line, the blond continued: “I’ve talked to the arson inspector. I’m sure he will be happy to explain everything to you when you get back. But please, try to enjoy the rest of your vacation. I’ll handle things here. As the fire wasn’t our fault, our insurance should cover everything. Just don’t worry, old man.” Before Zeff could protest, he continued: “Trust me. I’ll come to pick you up when you arrive at the airport.”

When he got back to the living room Ace was just pouring himself his third – or perhaps fourth – cup of coffee. “You okay?” he asked while grabbing the sugar bowl.

“Yeah. That was the owner, my adoptive father.” Sanji sank on a chair. “He’s taking it hard, but he’ll live. I tried to convince him to stay, as this is his first vacation in years. But I doubt he will go on holiday anytime soon after this.”

Sanji walked to a drawer and grabbed his emergency pack of cigarettes. He couldn’t smoke at all last night, just at the time when he had needed it the most. That was the reason he had resolved in drinking, and boy, had that been a mistake. He flinched when a few scenes from last night played in front of his eyes. He also grabbed a lighter and went back to the table. “Do you mind if I smoke?”

“It’s your house, knock yourself out.”

The chef lighted a cigarette and sighed happily when the nicotine hit his lungs. “Do you want one?”

“No thanks, I’m good. You know, there have been multiple buildings been catching on fire lately. It’s probably some pyromaniac,” Ace mused. “So I don’t think it’s personal.”

Sanji was about to ask which other buildings had burned down – he had been working hard lately and hardly had the time to watch the news – when his phone started ringing again. Checking who was calling, his face went pale.

“Are you all right?” Ace asked worried.

“Yeah… It’s my ex. She broke up with me the day before yesterday. I’m not sure I want to talk to her.” Though Ace nodded understandingly, Sanji’s own words got through to him. What was he thinking? It was rude to make a lady wait, let alone ignore her. So he answered. “Hello Conis, my dear.”

“Sanji, I just heard about your restaurant. I’m so sorry.”

The cook smiled. Despite the fact that she trampled his heart hardly a day ago, he was falling back in his old routines, treating her like a princess. “Unless you started the fire, you have nothing to apologise for, my angel.” He got up and walked into the kitchen again, leaving Ace to finish the last coffee. His own beverage had already cooled off anyway.

“But still. My timing was very unfortunate. If I had known…”

“Sweetie, please stop. You couldn’t have known and if you did, it was no reason for you to continue dating me if you didn’t want to. Really, I’m lucky you even stayed with me as long as you did.”

It was quiet for a moment on the other end of the line. “Please don’t stay stuff like that,” Conis then said in her sweet voice. He took another drag from his cigarette as she continued: “You are an amazing man, really. You’re always sweet and considerate, though sometimes you’re a bit goofy, but that’s okay. And I didn’t broke it off because you sometimes flirted with other girls. I know that’s innocent and you were always fateful. It’s just…” Her voice sounded like she held back her tears. “It’s just that you are too sweet. It’s hard not to take advantage off, even if I don’t want it.” She started to sob.

“Please don’t cry, princess,” Sanji said softly. “There is no need for that. Yes, it has been a rough couple of days for me, but I can handle it. Please don’t worry over me.”

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” she sniffled.

“Of course I will, darling. Thank you for calling. And my dove?”

“Yes?” the girl whispered.

The cook smiled watery. “Please smile again.”

He heard her chuckle softly when she said: “I will. I hope you will too.”

After she had hung up, the blond swallowed hard a few times before he felt ready to face Ace again. He didn’t want to look weak. But in the few weeks he and Conis had dated, he had started to care a lot for her. It had taken him by surprise when she had told him they couldn’t see each other anymore. It was hard for her too, he had seen that, but he had wished she would explain why. But now that she had, he hardly felt any better. Mostly because he didn’t quite understand the explanation.

“What does ‘being to sweet’ mean?” he asked half to himself when he sat down with Ace again.

The other man, who had been playing with Sanji’s lighter, shrugged. “That was her reason for breaking it off?”

The chef nodded. “Something about easy to take advantage of. But that’s not really a reason, is it?”

Ace shrugged again, this time smiling. “That’s why I prefer men. Much less cryptic.”

“Oh God, not you too,” Sanji groaned, but then slammed immediately a hand in front of his mouth. “I didn’t mean it like that! I have nothing against gay people. It’s just, Zoro is gay and, well, I kinda hoped to talk to someone that would understand and…”

Ace, who had just raised his eyebrow at Sanji’s comment, snickered. “It’s always fun watching people trip over their words to find a politically correct answer.”

“You’re not mad?” Sanji asked carefully.

“Of course not. If you were some homophobe, Zoro probably wouldn’t have let you stay. Or beat it out of you. Besides, I’m not gay. Let’s just say that I never say no to a blond with a nice ass.” He winked at the cook.

“I didn’t offer you one,” he answered dryly. He grabbed another cigarette, as his first one had gone out, and let Ace lit it.

“But did Zoro tell you he was gay? Normally he’s not so open about it. Or did he hit on you?” The black haired man grinned, probably imagining the gruff man flirting.

“No, I er… I found a magazine in his bathroom, which didn’t leave much to the imagination.” Sanji felt his cheeks slightly turn red as he remembered some of the pictures in it.

Ace burst into laughter once more. “Oh, that’s precious. If only I could have seen your face. Or his face, when you confronted him! Or didn’t you say anything?”

“Well, I had to make sure he knew I wasn’t interested.” The blond was now certain his ears were bright red. “So there would be no confusion.”

“So you’re not interested in him?” Ace asked.

“No, I’m straight.”

“Then, do I have a shot?”

Sanji was debating whether to repeat himself once more or just to give the guy a kick in the head. Honestly, was the man deliberately ignoring him? He took a deep breath and said with clenched teeth: “No, you do not.”

“That’s too bad. But anyway, what did Zoro say?” The other man hardly seemed regretful that Sanji just turned him down.

“He said he wasn’t interested in me, anyway.” It was no use to lie, since Ace would be hearing the truth probably soon enough. To be honest, he had been a little offended when Zoro had told him that he would have had no taste to date him, even though he had no interest in men anyway.

Ace started to laugh once again. This time, it didn’t seem like he would stop any time soon. Sanji wondered if he should be offended or if he should just join the man. He had quite a contagious laugh.

After Ace was done hiccupping, Sanji looked in the coffeepot to find it empty. He frowned. “How many cups have you had?”

“Dunno, five or six. But I need it to stay awake.” The black haired man pouted.

The blond cocked an eyebrow, but decided not to ask. “Do you want more?”

“I probably shouldn’t, unless I want to become a hyperactive rubber ball like my brother. But I do have to pee.”

“Upstairs, second door on your left.” While Ace raced to the bathroom, Sanji collected the mugs and the coffeepot and brought them to the kitchen. When the other man came down, he was snickering again. “You have also a dirty magazine in your bathroom.”

The blond flushed. “Don’t go through my private stuff!”

“You did it at Zoro’s.”

“I was looking for a towel after I had showered there! I wasn’t snooping.”

“So you were naked in his house?” Ace seemed to be lost in thought.

“Don’t picture that!” Sanji’s cheeks became even more crimson.

The black haired man grinned again. “Well anyways, thanks for the coffee. I should be going now. You should stop by at my place if you have the time. My brother probably would want to meet you.” He scribbled down his address. In the hallway he grabbed his helmet. “See ya around.”

Sanji sighed deep when he heard the door close. Despite the fact that Ace had intruded his house, his personality was very likeable and his company was a much welcomed distraction from his problems. There were so many things he had to do. But, he decided, first he had to put on some clean clothes. After he had changed and had prepared his old clothes to go to the drycleaner – if they weren’t completely ruined by the rain of last night – he checked to see if he had missed any calls besides Zeff’s. He had in fact, Patty and Carne had called, though he had no idea how they got his number. Only then it hit him. He and Zeff weren’t the only ones suffering from the burning down of the restaurant, the rest of the staff did as well. And they probably had only found out this morning in the paper.

He decided to call an emergency meeting at his house that evening, so they could talk what had happened and what was going to happen next. He had called Zeff back to discuss a few details about what to say. It wasn’t easy to convince the grumpy restaurant owner that Sanji could handle it and there was no reason to take the first plane back.

That night, the cook’s house was filled with people. Sanji had whipped up some hors d’oeuvres and now waited until everyone had arrived. When most were present, he stepped onto a chair and cleared his throat. “May I have your attention please?”

When ignored, he decided on a different approach. “Oi, shitheads! And lovely ladies,” he added, for the waitresses and female chefs. “I know you are all shocked about what happened to the Baratie. I am as well.”

“Does Zeff know?” Patty asked.

“Yes, he has heard the news. Though this doesn’t mean he is going to cut his vacation short. I’m sure you will all agree that he deserves this break after what he has done for you all.” Most of the staff were all people that had committed a petty crime or had otherwise been in trouble, Sanji himself being no exception. But Zeff had taken them all under his wing and given them a job.

A murmur of approval filled the room. “Until he comes back, I will handle all things. None of you is going to disturb him, is that clear?” When the staff nodded, the blond continued: “Now, don’t worry. The Baratie is going to be rebuild. First thing in the morning I will go look for a new location. Our insurance should cover everything, so we should have enough money, but if not, we will make sure we’ll get a loan. And we will keep you informed of course. But until then, I’m afraid you are going to have to find another job. Just for in the meantime. But as we are a family, we will be together again at the new restaurant!”

Applause filled the room and Sanji stepped down the chair. Patty and Carne came up to him. “Nice speech, eggplant,” the first said grinning.

The blond gave him a kick in the head. “Only the shitty old man can call me that.” Then he sighed. “You think they all will be okay?”

“Sure they will. At the very worst, they are out of a job for a few months,” Carne said shrugging.

Sanji nodded, when an idea hit him. His face brightened. “Wait, now that we are temporarily not on the same staff anymore, I can ask out our waitresses!” And he danced away, followed by a trail of hearts.


	3. Chapter 3

It was a couple of days later when Sanji received a phone call from the police, saying that they had arrested a suspect. The female officer who called asked him if he could stop by the police station that afternoon. There would be an identity parade, and they wanted to see it he would recognise any of the persons in any way. Of course, Sanji told her he would be there, and if she would still be there he would bring her lunch. Unfortunately, she only had a morning shift.

This was the second time in a few days he had talked to the police. Two days after he had met Zoro two police officers had come by to ask him some questions about the Baratie. At some point one of them implied Sanji himself might have something to do with it, to collect the insurance money. It was a good thing the other officer had been a woman, otherwise he had definitely lost his temper. Now, he had explained with clenched jaws how the restaurant was his life and how he had been nowhere near the scene of the crime. Fortunately, he had an alibi, as he had been drinking in a bar to forget about Conis before he had gone home, there were enough witnesses. As his car was at the garage to get fixed, there was no way he could have been there when the fire started. The officers had left satisfied, the female even more as Sanji had whispered to her she could have a free meal as soon as the Baratie reopened, for being so beautiful.

Frankly, the phone call made the chef’s day. Not only because he had had the chance to talk to a beautiful woman – at least she sounded beautiful – he was also relieved there was a suspect already. His feet were itching to kick the shit out of the little bastard. No one touched his restaurant.

But most of all, he was happy to just get out of the house. In the last few days he only got outside to buy groceries. The rest of the time he was only busy with the insurance of the Baratie, making phone calls to get the money as soon as possible, and finding a new place for the restaurant. So far he hadn’t been lucky and he hadn’t even had time to find a temporary job.

When he left for the police station, it was still early. Though he would rather have walked, the journey would take him too long, so he took the bus.

A friendly – though male – officer welcomed him at the police station. He was still young, probably fresh from the academy. The boy looked through a pile of papers, by which his thick glasses slid from his oddly coloured hair – it was pink – onto his nose. Sanji needed to fill in some forms and had to prove he was who he claimed to be. Only then the boy showed him where he could wait.

As Sanji was flipping through a boring magazine, a police officer entered. He looked to be of a higher rank than the boy at the entrance. “Sanji Prince?” he asked in a gruff voice.

The cook stood and shook the man’s hand. He couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. Was it a requirement for police officers to look odd? This man had a purple mohawk, which was longer in the back, and a very pointy moustache in a matching colour.

“My name is inspector Momonga. Follow me, please.”

He led Sanji to a small room with a window, looking out over a different room. “Now, listen very carefully,” the inspector continued. “When I give the signal, five people are being led into the room behind the glass. Don’t worry, they can’t see you.”

Sanji snorted. Those suspects should be more scared of him.

“Look carefully if you recognise anyone from, for example, hanging around the Baratie. Remember to take your time. Is that clear?”

As Sanji nodded, the inspector pressed a button and said: “Show them in.”

Five men walked in. They wore signs with the numbers one to five on them. All had about the same height and looked somewhat alike. But when number five walked in, Sanji froze.

He looked like the other men, a little taller than average built, muscular, black hair. But different from the others was the grin that lay on his freckled face.

Sanji quickly tried to behave normal, but Momonga had already noticed. “Who do you recognise?” he asked in his gruff voice.

“No one,” the blond tried to talk his way out, but it was clear it wasn’t going to work. “Number five,” he said sighing.

“Are you sure?”

When he nodded, Momonga pressed the button again and said the suspects could leave again.

“Look, I don’t know Ace from the restaurant. I met him when it already burned down,” Sanji tried to explain as the men left the other room.

“Why don’t we talk in my office?”

* * *

A while later Sanji left Momonga’s room. He had tried to explain how he knew Ace as clearly as he could without going in too much detail. He hoped the inspector would understand and let Ace go. He could at least comfort himself with the thought he had done everything he could.

As he was about to go home, he saw a familiar green head of hair. The man was sitting on a bench with a black haired boy beside him. The chef tried to pass them without them noticing him, as he didn’t feel like talking to Zoro. But he had already been spotted.

The green haired man jerked his head up. “You,” he said in a dangerously calm voice.

“Hey,” Sanji said carefully. The eyes of the man in front of him seemed darker than he remembered, perhaps of anger?

His suspicions were confirmed when Zoro closed his hand around his neck and lifted him a few inches from the ground, pressing him against the wall. “Did you do this to Ace? To Luffy?” the green haired man yelled. All the calmness had disappeared.

“Who’s Luffy?” Sanji managed to choke out, his lungs screaming for oxygen.

Zoro pointed to the boy behind him, who looked at them curiously.

“I didn’t…” The chef swallowed, before he decided to give the other man a sharp kick in the shin. Zoro’s grip slacked and Sanji slid to the ground, rubbing his sore throat. “What the hell was that for? Why would I say Ace was the culprit? I kinda like the guy. Besides, I didn’t even meet him until after the Baratie burned down.”

“Who knows what goes on in that perverted brain of yours,” Zoro snorted.

Sanji was about to yell at him he wasn’t the only pervert here, when he felt a tug on his sleeve. When he turned around, he saw the black haired boy. “Are you Sanji?” he asked with a slightly cocked head.

“I am. You must be Ace’s brother, Luffy.”

“I am,” he parroted. “You are a chef, right? Can you cook me some meat?”

The blond was stunned. Just a few moments ago the boy had looked quite upset. Hell, his brother was _arrested_. And he thought of meat? Sure, Ace had mentioned the boy shouldn’t be left alone with a full fridge, but this was hardly the time to think about food.

“No, I cannot,” he answered irritated. “And not in the last place because we are at the police station.”

The boy pouted. Sanji could still feel Zoro’s stare at the back of his head. Sharply he turned around. “What?”

“Why are you here?”

“They asked me to identify a suspect. I didn’t know it would be Ace.”

“What did you tell them?”

“The truth. That I have never seen him near the Baratie and I met him only after the fire. Everything should be fine,” Sanji added, talking more to Luffy than Zoro. “I don’t think he is the pyromaniac either. And now I have to go. Bye.” Walking away with one hand in his pocket, he waved shortly, giving the two men no chance to stop him.

He didn’t actually have to leave, as he didn’t feel like working on the insurance stuff again, but the whole situation made him feel uncomfortable. First his sort-of-friend got arrested, then he met the strange brother and to make matters worse, Zoro was there. He had no idea what the man was planning and he dreaded the favour he was ought to return.

He lit a cigarette to calm his nerves, when he walked past an old bookstore. Then a smile appeared on his lips. He had been to this bookstore many times before, in fact, he bought all his books there. And he hadn’t been there in a while.

A small bell sounded as he opened the door. The man behind the counter looked up, a huge grin laying on his face. Sanji couldn’t remember seeing the man without his trademark smile. The blond was impressed the man always seemed to be in a good mood, considering all the bad things that had happened to him. Across the man’s left eye ran three parallel scars, made by an unknown cause. On top of that, he had only one arm. Sanji had been told he lost it in a car accident. When he was rescued, his left arm had been stuck and the only way to get him out was by cutting it off. The blond had been wondering why he never got a prosthetic arm.

“It has been a while, kiddo,” the bookstore owner greeted him cheerfully.

“Hi Shanks. Indeed it has.” He was glad he had thought of bringing his reading glasses.

“I’ve been expecting you. I’ve got something for you.” The man ducked under the counter and when he got up, he was holding a book. “The new Nigella Lawson. Or have you been cheating on me and bought it somewhere else?” he added in a mock-accusing tone.

“Of course not. I just have been too busy to stop by. Just leave it there, you know I will buy it anyway.”

Shanks snickered and placed the book on the counter as Sanji strolled to the shelf with other cookbooks. He barely had got his reading glasses out of his pocket, when he heard a loud noise, like something heavy fell.

“Are you okay?” he heard Shanks ask.

Surprised, he was about to say he was all right, when a deep voice said: “Yeah, fine.”

The chef peered around the corner and saw a man he didn’t know standing next to Shanks. He was a little taken aback, as he usually was the only costumer.

The man looked like he was in the second half of his forties. His greying hair fell on his shoulders and his black t-shirt was covered in dust. His face reminded Sanji somewhat of a sailor, covered in scars and hardened by wind and water.

“A box of books fell on me,” the man explained curtly.

“That explains the dust,” Shanks snickered as he dusted him off. “Ah Sanji, come meet Benn.”

The chef walked up to them, hanging his glasses onto his collar.

“Benn, this is Sanji, one of my best costumers. Sanji, meet Benn, my friend. He helps me in the store from time to time.”

The blond nodded. Though he was a little surprised he was only one of the best as he never saw anyone else in the store, he had been wondering how Shanks managed to keep the store up and running without any staff, as he only had one arm to work with. Apparently, his friend did the heavy work.

Benn snatched Sanji’s hand and shook it firmly. The blond could swear he heard his bones crack. When the older man finally let go, Sanji moved his hand, making sure it wasn’t broken. He tried to be discrete, but Shanks took notice. He burst into laughter. “Benn, be careful with the boy. He’s a chef, he needs his hands. Which reminds me, that’s a shame about your restaurant.”

The chef blinked, caught a bit off guard by the sudden change of topic. “Yeah, it is.”

“Do you know how it happened?” the red haired man asked after he had explained the situation to his friend.

“Arson. They already have a suspect.”

“That sure is quick.”

“But the thing is…” Sanji hesitated for a moment, “I don’t think he did it.”

“The suspect? Do tell.” Shanks looked at him intrigued.

“Well, I met the guy before he got arrested. He is very nice.”

“Don’t let his appearance fool you,” Benn said in a gruff voice.

Sanji cocked an eyebrow, but Shanks gave his friend a soothing pat on the shoulder and said to the chef: “Don’t listen to him, he has trust issues.”

The blond nodded, noticing how Shanks touched Benn more than necessary. The other man didn’t seem to mind, at least he didn’t complain. The chef raised an eyebrow, but decided not to say anything.

“I have to go,” Benn said suddenly, placing his pocket watch back. “I have to pick up Rika from kindergarten. I’ll finish up here tomorrow.”

“Sure. Are you coming over tonight? I invited the guys to have a party,” Shanks inquired.

“Of course you did. I’ll try to make it if I can find a babysitter.” The little bell at the door jingled again as the grey haired man left the store.

Sanji stared after him. First of all, he hadn’t heard the bell when he was in the store, which meant that Benn had already been there when he arrived. Damn, that man could be stealthy. The second thing he wondered about, was that Benn had a child, such a small one for that matter.

As if guessing his thoughts, Shanks said: “Rika was his brother’s daughter. He and his wife died in a plane crash. Benn took custody of her. He’s doing a surprisingly good job on his own.” The red haired man smiled, reminding Sanji somewhat of a teenage girl in love and confirming his theory that Shanks in fact had a crush on his friend. Or maybe they were already more than friends. But Sanji doubted that, seeing the book store owner did nothing to hide his sexuality and had introduced Benn just as his friend.

“I should do something nice for him,” Shanks continued, more to himself than to his customer. “It’s always good to do something nice for a friend, don’t you agree? Hell, it is even good to do something kind for someone you barely know.”

The blond nodded again, doubting the bookstore owner realised he was still there. But the man did gave him an idea. “Shanks?”

The man woke up from his thoughts and looked at Sanji like he was surprised to see him there.

“I’ll just take Nigella today, I just remembered I have to do something.”

The red haired man picked up the cookbook that was still laying on the counter. “Just one book? How will I ever pay for my second beach house?” he said in mock-disappointment.

“I already paid most for the first one. But next time I’ll buy more,” Sanji promised grinning as he paid. He greeted Shanks and left the store, looking at his watch. If he was going through with this, he had to hurry. With his new cookbook tucked under his arm, he sat down at the bus stop, trying not to think about what happened the last time he sat there. 

* * *

 

About two hours later, he was standing in front of the house he had been looking for. In his arms he had a bag full of groceries. He checked the address one more time, before taking a deep breath and ringing the doorbell.

The gorgeous young woman that answered the door wasn’t at all what he expected, but was hardly a disappointment. “Good afternoon, beautiful lady.” He made a light bow, making sure the groceries didn’t fall out of the bag. “I’m looking for Luffy, does he live here?” He tried to look inside the house, but the woman blocked his view by leaning against the doorframe. He saw no reason to complain.

The woman raised an unimpressed eyebrow at his flirtations and flipped her long orange hair behind her shoulder. “Who’s asking?”

“Ah, pardon my manners! My name is Sanji.” He reached out his hand, but the woman just stared at it. “I was a chef in the restaurant that burned down and–”

Before he could finish, the woman turned around and tried to close the door. Hastily, the cook placed his foot between the door. It wasn’t his habit to defy a lady’s wish, but he really wanted to talk to Luffy. “Please, my lovely swan! If you are even a little as understanding as you are beautiful, I’m sure you will understand. I mean no harm, really. I just thought maybe I could prepare some food–”

The door opened again, but instead of the lady now Luffy stood in the doorway, his head cocked a little. “Food?”  
Sanji smiled. “Yeah, I thought you would feel bad, so maybe you would like some comfort food.”

The raven haired boy sniffed the bag like a hungry dog. “Do you have meat in there?”

“Sure,” the blond answered a bit surprised by his eagerness.

The red haired woman, who was still standing behind Luffy in the hallway, snorted. “You know he is the reason Ace got arrested, right? It’s because his restaurant burned down.”

“Listen, my swan, I don’t think Ace did it–”

“Just let him in, Nami, he’s a good guy,” a deep voice suddenly said.

The shivers went down Sanji’s spine. No way that _he_ was here…

The woman, Nami, still didn’t seem happy about it, but let him in anyway. Luffy walked, or rather bounced, beside him, asking: “So what kind of meat have you in there? Is it a lot?”

When they entered the living room, Sanji stopped dead at seeing the familiar green head of hair. Zoro was sitting on the couch holding a bottle of beer. “So we meet again. It almost looks like you are stalking me,” he smirked.

“Maybe you’re the one stalking me!” the blond flung back.

The swordsman straightened and the two glared at each other dangerously.

Nami looked from one to the other. “So the two of you know each other?”

“Hardly,” Sanji snorted. “Where can I find the kitchen?” He slapped Luffy’s hand away, which had snuck into the bag of groceries. He wondered if he would let the boy, he would eat it raw.

She pointed him. “I’m Nami, by the way.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” He smiled at her again and walked to the kitchen, meanwhile kicking Luffy away and yelling him to wait until dinner was served.

Nami sat down next to Zoro, grabbing her own beer. “So is he like an ex of yours or something?”

“Why would you say that?” he responded, eyebrows raised.

“He seems like your type.”

The green haired man almost choked in his beer. “I just met him before.” He coughed and wiped the tears from his eyes. “Can’t you tell he’s straight? He was flirting with you the entire time.”

Nami shrugged. “I just figured he was overcompensating.”

A noise came from the kitchen, sounding like all the crockery fell on the floor. Sanji came rushing into the living room. “That is so harsh, Nami-swan, even coming from a beautiful mouth like yours.”

Zoro snickered and pretending he hadn’t heard the blond, he said: “Yeah, that’s what I figured as well.”

“Shut up, bastard!”

A flying kick neared his head and he ducked just in time. He pushed the chef back, making a mental note always to bring his swords from now on, seeing he seemed to meet Sanji everywhere.

Their fight ended in a wrestling match. Nami ignored them, probably used to Zoro fighting, but Luffy started to laugh.

The men on the ground ceased their fight, with Zoro having the blond in a hold, and looked at the boy. “You guys are so funny,” Luffy hiccupped.

Sanji looked at the swordsman, who had a slight smile on his face. He must be happy to see Luffy laugh after what had happened with his brother. The chef pushed Zoro off of him and straightened his tie. “I should check on my steaks.” He glared at the green haired one more time and strolled to the kitchen again, followed by Luffy acclaiming: “Yay, meat!”

* * *

About half an hour later Sanji put the last dish on the table. He had ordered Luffy to set the table, or otherwise no meat. The table had never been set faster.

The cook had prepared a simple dish, as he hadn’t had his usual assortment of spices and herbs. Nami and Zoro loaded their plates fast, to Sanji’s astonishment, until he saw how Luffy put away the rest. He got up, glad to have some food left over in the kitchen.

When he got back, Zoro just gave the raven haired boy a smack on the head for trying to steal his food. Sanji shook his head, smiling. It sure was a lively meal eating with Luffy. He barely had thought that, or he had to kick the black haired boy himself.

After they ate, or in Luffy’s case inhaled the food, the blond did the dishes, as Zoro dried them. The blond had refused Nami’s half-hearted offer to help and Luffy was too hyperactive to hold a wet plate without breaking it.

They washed and dried in silence, until the swordsman said: “Thanks for doing this.”

“Well, sure. I can’t ask a lady to put her delicate hands into dirty dishwater?”

“Not that, you love-cook! I mean stopping by for Luffy.”

Sanji shrugged. “I just figured the boy would be down and Ace mentioned something about him having an insatiable appetite. Being a chef, it wasn’t all that hard to think of something to cheer him up.”

“Still, you didn’t have to come.” The green haired man was silent for a moment. “I’m glad you don’t think Ace is responsible for the fire at your restaurant.”

The blond shrugged. “Well, I met the guy and he doesn’t seem like the type. But don’t get me wrong, if he did it–”

“He didn’t,” Zoro interrupted him hotly, almost breaking the plate he was holding.

Sanji kept silent as he rinsed the last pan and handed it to the swordsman. After that he strolled to the living room and asked: “Is there somewhere I can smoke?”

Nami, who was trying to make Luffy sit still on the couch, raised an eyebrow and said: “Outside.”

As the blond put a cigarette between his lips, Zoro entered and sat down on the couch, his eyes never leaving the chef.

“So is this the guy you like?” Luffy had barely enough tact to wait until they heard the front door close.

The green haired man froze. “W-what makes you think that?” he chocked out.

Luffy shrugged. “Ace said you liked a blond cook.”

Nami started to laugh. “I knew it!”

Zoro cursed under his breath. Ace and his big mouth! After his friend had dropped off Sanji, he immediately had called Zoro to tell him what had happened and to pry about the night before. He had not told Ace about the ‘incident’, but somehow his friend always knew stuff like this and he had no doubt the man at least had a hunch. He did confess he had the hots for the blond after Ace had pulled it out of him. Ace immediately started to think of plans how Zoro could get closer to Sanji, but the green haired man had assured him he could figure something out for himself.

But now that he saw the blond again, he had no idea what to do. Though he had nothing against gay people, the man had been quite clear he wasn’t into men, nor would he ever be. The only thing Zoro could do was to keep Sanji close and establish a friendship. And as the chef still owed him a favour, he should think of something fun.

He got up and walked to the door.

“Are you going to your lover?” Nami teased.

He turned around. “I’m just following his example and get the hell away from you, hag.”

Opening the door, he saw Sanji with a phone to his ear making wild gestures with the hand holding his cigarette. “Don’t do this to me, Gin. You know what he will do to me if I don’t pick him up.” He kept silent for a moment, as the person on the other end of the line said something. “You better not ditch me for one of your shitty dates.” A silence again. Sanji scratched the back of his head. “Well, I suppose that is a good excuse. Tell your mom I hope she feels better soon.” But then his tone turned angry again. “Oi, I thought you said you had to take your mother to the shitty hospital!” Apparently, the person on the other end of the line had hung up, because Sanji looked at his phone and mumbled: “Fucker.”

“Everything okay?”

The blond jumped and turned around. “Oi, don’t sneak up to me like that!”

Zoro snickered. “You should be better aware of your surroundings, especially at night. Who knows what some people want to do to a pretty little blond like you.”

“Don’t make me sound like a girl, bastard!”

The green haired man grinned again, but then straightened his face. “So what was that conversation about?”

Sanji stared at his phone. “I’m supposed to pick Zeff up from the airport in a few hours, but my car is still broken. So I had asked a friend to lent me his car, but he just called to say that he needs it tonight.”

“To take his mother to the hospital?”

The blond gave a scornful laugh. “That’s what he said, but then I heard a doorbell in the background and he said: ‘There she is already!’ And I doubt he would let his sick mother come to his house to take her to the hospital. The shithead leaves me hanging for a fucking date.” He took an angry puff at his cigarette.

“I can take you,” Zoro offered.

Sanji stared at him like he just suggested to do indecent things to him. “No, no, you’ve done quite enough for me. I don’t want to be anymore in your debt than I already am.”

“So, what? You’re gonna let him take the bus?” the swordsman asked mockingly.

“He’d kill me if I did that. I could call a cab,” the chef mused. His face got a painful expression. “Poor cabdriver.”

Zoro shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

He was about to go inside again, when Sanji grabbed his arm. “Wait. Okay, you can take me to the airport. But only if you do it as a favour to him, not for me.”

“Whatever.”

Inside, they told Nami and Luffy their plans. The woman gave Zoro a knowing look and he mumbled under his breath: “Witch.”

Sanji looked at his watch and said it was still a little early to leave, as it wouldn’t be a long drive. But Nami assured him that with Zoro as a driver they needed all the time they could get, causing the swordsman to yell at her and Luffy to roll over the floor laughing.

The green haired man still growled insults as he grabbed his jacket, but deep down he didn’t really mind that much. Sure, Nami was and always had been a money-grabbing bitch, but at least now he could spent some more time with the blond. Alone.


	4. Chapter 4

“Now go left,” a metallic female voice came from the navigation system. Zoro put on his indicator.

The blond chef next to him sighed deeply. “The other left, Marimo.”

The swordsman looked at him confused. “There is only one left.”

“Yes, the complete opposite direction of were you were about to go.”

Zoro muttered something about making up their minds which direction was which, but he put on the indicator to the left at the last second.

Sanji couldn’t hide his smile. Nami had been right that they should take all the time they could get, with Zoro’s sense of direction… At first the blond had trusted the swordsman had known were he was going, after all, he just had to follow the signs. After their third U-turn, Sanji had found a navigation system in the glove compartment, but that hardly helped the directionally challenged marimo. Then the cook had resolved in pointing out the directions with his hands, but Zoro had only gotten mad and yelled he wasn’t retarded. So now Sanji only interfered when the other man put his wrong indicator on – which was most of the time.

The silence in the car was probably good for Zoro to focus on the road, but it made the chef uneasy.

“Is Nami the one that called you when I was at your place?” he dared to ask.

“Yeah.”

Sanji sighed. How on earth had he thought the moss headed swordsman would answer with more than one word. “So how did you meet?”

“College.”

The blond felt like smashing his head into the dashboard. Was it too much to ask to elaborate of his own record? “So you guys have been friends for a long time?” he asked with clenched teeth.

“I suppose. Though Nami and Luffy are more than friends now.”

“Eeh?!” Sanji’s jaw almost hit the floor. “They’re dating?!”

The green haired man raised an eyebrow. “Yeah. You didn’t get that?”

“But how can a beautiful swan like that date someone like Luffy? Although,” he continued musing, “it does explain why she didn’t gave in to my advances.”

“No. That’s just because you are a moron.”

“What did you say?!”

Though he had already seen some of the cook’s flexibility, it still surprised Zoro when the blond man managed to kick him without taking his seatbelt off.

They drove further in silence, aside from the occasional directions from Sanji, when the chef asked: “So, what’s with the swords?”

“Kendo.”

The blond rolled his eyes. “I assumed that much. But real swords?”

Zoro shrugged. “Swords always fascinated me. And real ones are more fun than wooden ones. What’s with the kicks?”

Sanji decided to answer Zoro-style. “Savate.”

“That’s French, right?”

“Yeah. I did a chef’s training in France, when I learned it existed. Zeff’s always kicking me, so I figured he has learned it as well. He’s created is own style, though. Anyway, I wanted to beat him, so basically, all I did in France was cooking and training. And flirting with beautiful women, of course.”

At the last remark, Zoro rolled his eyes, but then he asked: “But you can use your hands in savate, right? Why don’t you?”

“You really know your martial arts,” Sanji said a little impressed. “Yes, according to the rules you can use your open hand in combat. But as a chef, my hands are way too important to risk. Besides, the way I fight is how it was intended, by sailors who had their hands full back in the 1800s,” he added in a cocky way. “Take this exit.”

A bit caught off guard, Zoro asked unintelligently: “Huh?”

“This exit. Go right! Follow the huge sign which says ‘airport’!” Sanji waved with his right hand impatiently.

Hastily, Zoro put on his indicator and at the last moment swung the steering wheel to the right, ignoring the sounds of angry honking behind him.

* * *

“So, what does the guy looks like?” Zoro asked frowning as they were making their way through the crowd.

“Hm, old geezer, grumpy. He’s blond and has a moustache.” Sanji thought for a moment. “Ah, and he has a peg leg.”

“Shouldn’t you have said that one first?” Zoro mumbled. Really, there were a lot of people with moustaches, weren’t there? And how many people had peg legs nowadays?

But when he saw the guy, he understood why Sanji had mentioned the moustache first. It was huge, and on top of that, it was braided.

The younger chef didn’t wave, he just strolled to the restaurant owner and nodded to him in acknowledgment. “Old geezer.”

“Eggplant,” was the gruff response.

Zoro looked from one to the other. There was a lot of tension in the air. Both man stood in a defensive pose, ready to strike.

Finally, the older man snorted and the tension seemed to drain. “So, who’s the grass head?”

Sanji couldn’t help but smirk at Zoro’s new nickname. “Your chauffeur. My car broke down, so Marimo offered to bring you home.”

“My name’s not Marimo. At least introduce me properly, Curly-brow!” the swordsman snapped. Then he looked at the older chef. “I’m Zoro.”

“Zeff. So, String-bean, now your car’s broken too? You can’t do anything right, can you?”

Zoro watched Sanji’s cheeks flush with anger. This man really knew how to rile him up. But then again, so did the swordsman. He smirked. The blond looked rather cute like this.

“Just be happy I took the time to pick you up, you shitty old fart!”

While the two argued, Zoro’s mind drifted to the conversation he had with Sanji earlier. When the chef had talked about the sailors who invented savate. ‘ _Quite fitting_ ,’ he thought, now that he heard him argue. The man cussed like a sailor himself. Though, Zeff had quite a colourful vocabulary as well. They only stopped bickering when a large group of people had gathered around them and Sanji saw a young mother put her hands over the ears of her son. Abruptly, he shut up.

Zeff cleared his throat. “Let’s leave now, before someone calls the cops. Again. Now, go get my suitcase.”

“You heard the man,” Sanji smirked at Zoro, which earned him a kick in the head with Zeff’s peg leg. “I meant you, String-bean.”

* * *

As they walked to the car, Sanji lit a cigarette. Zeff snorted. “And you’re sure not one of those cancer sticks burned down my restaurant?”

“I already told you, it was arson, old man!”

Zeff snorted again. “With a bunch of incompetent chefs such as yourself, I find that hard to believe.”

“The police even made an arrest!” The blond massaged his temples with his fingers. “That’s it. Tomorrow I’ll call the arson inspector and let _him_ explain it to you. Fortunately, he seemed like a man with a lot of patience.”

As Zoro walked to the door at the side of the driver’s seat, Sanji crushed the butt of his cigarette. “Are you sure I shouldn’t drive?”

“Why would you drive? It’s my damn car.”

The blond rolled his eyes. “I know it’s yours. Mine doesn’t look like it is going to fall apart by mere looking at it. But it’s getting late and with your sense of direction…”

“There is noting wrong with my sense of direction.”

“Okay, think quickly. What’s your right hand?”

Zoro held up his right hand. “This is.” Seeing Sanji’s raised eyebrow, he added uncertain: “Isn’t it?”

An amused smirk spread across the cook’s face. “I knew it. It was just a lucky guess. Now give me the damn car keys.”

“Like hell! How do I know that weird looking thing you call an eyebrow doesn’t have an effect on your brain?”

“At least my eyebrow isn’t spread across my head. It could only influence a small part of my brain, unlike the roots of the grass growing in your head!”

While they were bickering, Zeff yawned. “Could you two continue this at home? You sound like an old married couple.”

Turning around sharply, Sanji exclaimed: “Don’t you dare call us that, old geezer!”

The restaurant owner shrugged. “It’s none of my business what you do in your free time. Now, let’s head home, so the two of you can have make up sex.”

Zoro snickered. The blond looked furious right now, so the swordsman decided to give one last push. “Come on, dear.”

That did it. Sanji exploded. The only thing what the swordsman could see was a rain of kicks landing down on him. Though he defended himself as well as he could without his swords, for a second he thought this was how he would die. It had been worth it, though.

Fortunately, Zeff intervened and prevented his untimely death. “Stop playing around, Lil’ Eggplant.” With a swift kick in the head, the younger chef froze and rubbed the painful spot. He was still mumbling cuss words when Zoro stepped grinning behind the steering wheel.

* * *

After some detours, they finally arrived at Zeff’s house. It was an old building, but well maintained. Zoro stayed in the car as Sanji helped the older man unload his suitcase out of the boot, looking up when he heard someone knocking on the window. “Come in, grasshopper, I’ll make you some food,” the restaurant owner said.

Not knowing whether he should be insulted or not, the green haired man stepped out of the car. The first thing he saw though, was Sanji’s smirking face. “You’re coming too?” he asked gruff.

“Of course I’m coming. Just be honoured you are allowed to spend more time in my company.” The blond tilted his head in a cocky way.

Zoro snorted, but followed the cook anyway. At least he had a nice view.

Inside Zeff immediately went to the kitchen. The younger cook was right behind him, but after a few minutes, he came back, sitting down on the couch next to Zoro and handing him a beer.

“Shouldn’t you be in the kitchen?” the green haired man asked taking a sip.

Sanji snorted. “Like the old geezer would let me help.”

They sat in silence for a while. Zoro noticed that the blond had brought a coke for himself and couldn’t help but grin. It seemed like the young chef wasn’t comfortable drinking around him anymore.

“So,” broke Sanji the silence. It was obvious he was ill at ease. “Did you think of anything yet?”

“A favour for you to do, you mean? No, not yet.”

The cook took a relieved breath, but said: “Okay, let me know when you do.”

A little while after that Zeff came in holding three plates. He gave Sanji and Zoro each one and then took a seat in an old rocking chair. He and the blond started to talk about the restaurant and shit, so the swordsman tuned them out. He had been getting hungry again in the meantime and attacked the food like he hadn’t eaten in days. It was delicious, even better than Sanji’s cooking. Well, now he had met the master.

Sanji looked at him disgusted as he crammed down the food. “You’re starting to look like Luffy, Marimo.”

“’s good,” he answered with his mouth full.

Zeff nodded approvingly seeing his healthy appetite. Then he turned to Sanji. “Why are you letting that poor boy starve? I surely taught you better than that.”

“Starve? We just ate right before we came to pick you up! True, there was another guy who seemed to have a black hole instead of a stomach, but I made sure everyone ate enough. Like I always do.”

Zeff just shook his head.

* * *

The next morning, Sanji woke up late. They had ended up staying quite a while with the old geezer. Zeff had liked Zoro, much to the blond’s annoyance. To think that the two most irritating people he knew could gang up on him… He already regretted introducing them.

After that, Zoro had brought him home, even though he and Zeff didn’t live far apart. For some reason, there had been a lot of tension in the air. When they arrived at Sanji’s place, the green haired man had scratched the back of his head and asked if he should walk him to the door. The blond had yelled at him that this wasn’t a fucking date and that he was taking the old man’s married couple joke too far. After that, he had slammed the car door shut.

He sighed and stood up to take a shower. Maybe he had overreacted, but he was tired and the guy just knew how to get under his skin. When he had left Zoro’s place, he could have just walked out of there and never looked back. But his pride withheld him. He couldn’t just let _that_ favour go unreturned, even if he hadn’t asked for it. At that point, he had just thought he would repay his debt and that would be it. But as it turned out, Zoro was everywhere. And the worst was that it were just coincidences. If the swordsman had been stalking him, he could beat the shit out of him and get a restraining order or something. But no, it were fucking coincidences and there was nothing he could do about it. Especially now that Zeff liked the marimo. No, he was stuck with him.

Sighing, he dried himself off and made a light breakfast. He decided not to think about it anymore. At least not until Zoro had thought of something to repay his debt.

After he had eaten, he grabbed the phone to call the arson inspector. Maybe he could get through to the shitty old geezer’s thick skull and Zeff would stop accusing Sanji of the destruction of the restaurant.

The phone rung a few times before it was answered.

“Marco Fenwick.”

“Hey Marco, it’s Sanji. From the Baratie.”

“Ah, yes. What can I do for you?”

“You said to call if I had any questions. Well, the owner, Zeff, is back in town and he doesn’t seem to believe the whole arson story.”

It stayed silent at the other end of the line for a moment. Sanji was just about to check if the man was still there, when Marco continued: “He doesn’t believe it’s _arson_?”

“No. He keeps accusing me and the other chefs of doing something stupid to let it happen.”

The arson inspector burst into laughter. “That’s so ironic. Usually someone does something stupid and people wish it were arson. But now it’s the other way around and he’s still not happy.”

The blond waited patiently until the man was done hiccupping, before he asked: “So I was wondering if you could explain it to Zeff. Maybe if he hears the technical details, he’ll believe it.”

Sanji heard some ruffling through papers, Marco was probably checking his day planner. “Sure, if you like, I could pop by tonight. I’ll be there around six.”

“That would be great, thanks. I’ll make sure there’s dinner.”

“That’s the least I expect when visiting two chefs,” Marco joked.

* * *

It was towards six thirty when the doorbell rang. Though Sanji had promised he would take care of dinner, Zeff had kicked him out of the kitchen before he could have gotten an apron. Grumbling something about shitty old farts who thought they could do it better, the younger chef opened the door and showed Marco in. The arson inspector was a tall, slightly muscled man in his early thirties, with blond hair in an odd hairstyle, for some reason reminding Sanji of a pineapple. He had some stubble on his chin from a few days not shaving. His eyes were a bit droopy, as if he was really bored, but the chef had soon learned that was just his face in a relaxed state. In reality, he was quite nice to talk to.

Sanji showed Marco in and called for Zeff. The older cook came in with in his hands a steaming bowl, filled with food.

“First we eat,” he said gruff after curtly introducing himself.

During dinner, Marco explained Zeff the technical details about the fire, having found traces of an inflammable fluid. Sanji hardly listened. He had already heard the story and at this point, all he could think about was what Zoro might have in store for him. So much for not thinking about it.

“So, how’s the investigation going?”

Marco’s question started him from his thoughts. “Sorry?”

“The investigation. Or doesn’t the police keep you up-to-date?”

“O yeah, that. Actually, they already arrested someone.”

Taking a bite, Marco raised an eyebrow. “So soon? They really want that pyromaniac behind bars. Have you seen him?”

The chef nodded. “Though I don’t think he did it. I mean, what kind of fireman is a firebug at night?”

Marco’s fork paused on the way to his mouth. “Fireman?”

“Yeah. Name’s Ace.”

Now the fork slipped from the man’s hand and his eyes widened. “P-Portgas?!”

“I don’t know the guy’s last name,” Sanji shrugged. “Ya know him?”

The arson inspector wiped his fork clean with his napkin, his cheeks slightly red from embarrassment. “We’ve never met.”

The younger chef exchanged a confused look with Zeff as Marco seemed to be lost in thought. “That explains some things,” the arson inspector mumbled.

Sanji was about to ask if he meant that Ace was capable of arson, but his adoptive father shook his head almost unnoticeable. Marco had his own things to deal with.

After dinner, the arson inspector politely refused coffee and got ready to leave, saying he still had things to do. Sanji didn’t buy that though. Ever since he revealed Ace was arrested, the man had been rather quiet.

Therefore, when the arson inspector had left the house, he quickly said goodbye to Zeff and followed Marco outside. “You okay?” he asked.

The other man stopped and toyed with his car keys. “Sure. I just need to do stuff.”

“Like what?”

When Marco didn’t answer him, he continued: “Wanna grab a beer? On me of course.”

“I just got a free dinner.”

“I know. But if you’re going to worry about shit, what better way to do it than with booze?” Sanji explained chuckling.

The arson inspector thought it over for a moment and then nodded. “Sure. A beer sounds good.”

The two of them strolled to Marco’s car, a light blue sports wagon. Sanji whistled impressed. “Nice car. Getting a bit overpaid?”

Marco just smirked and got behind the wheel, as Sanji opened the door on the passengers side. The seats were from leather and very comfortable. This car was so much better than the rust-bucket Zoro called his ride. He really should stop thinking about that guy, before it drove him mad. The marimo wasn’t here and for the first time in a long time he was out with someone he actually got along with. No way he would let that green haired bastard ruin his night without even being there.

They drove to the nearest bar, but before Marco could get out of the car, Sanji stopped him. “Hey, before we go… What’s your sexual preference?” That sounded way worse than it did in his head, and when he saw the other man’s raised eyebrows, he knew Marco thought so too. “I didn’t mean it like that…”He was really bad at this, so much had he proven in his conversation with Ace. “Look, I was just wondering, in case there are girls, which there probably are, if you would be interested.”

Marco looked at him for a while with his bored expression. “They’re all yours,” he then said and got out of the car.

Sanji followed him hastily. “I haven’t offended you, have I?” He was a bit worried his new friend had taken his words the wrong way.

The arson inspector stopped, one hand in his pocket, standing in a relaxed pose. “Just buy me an extra beer,” he smirked.

Inside, Sanji ordered two beers. Again, he was very glad Zoro wasn’t there, he didn’t dare to drink a single drop of alcohol near the swordsman. A shiver went down his spine as he recalled what had happened at Zoro’s house. Marco raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything and started on his beer.

The blond chef couldn’t help but check the door every few seconds, expecting the green haired man to barge in any minute. After all, the swordsman always seemed to be where he was, those fucking coincidences. When he turned around to take another sip, he saw that Marco had already ordered a second beer. The arson inspector looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Are you waiting for someone?”

“What? Hell no!” Flushed he grabbed his beer bottle. Damn marimo bastard even got on his nerves when he wasn’t around.

Marco just shrugged and continued to sip from his drink. Sanji had only finished half his bottle when the other man ordered another and by the time he finished his beer, Marco had switched to something stronger. The blond cook wanted to point out he only offered a few beers, but then he noticed some girls waving at him.

“Do you mind?” he asked his friend, who shrugged again, already a little tipsy.

Sanji walked, or better danced, to the girls and offered them a drink. Every once in a while he would cast a worried glance to his new friend, who was still alone at the bar drinking. At least he wasn’t thinking about a certain green haired swordsman. He could practically hear the man snort and call him an idiot for fussing over these girls. But really, who was the idiot? The girls were sweet and cute, they all deserved his attention. Stupid Muscle-head.

Fuck, he was thinking about him again. Quickly he focussed his attention on a brunette who was telling about her supposedly super cute dog. Until his eye caught the bartender, who was serving Marco again. Shit, the man was really drinking away. Something had to bother him a lot. Sanji was inclined to introduce the girls to him, but the arson inspector had made clear he wasn’t interested. They were all his, he’d said, which could mean that he either was in a relationship or he just wasn’t interested in girls. The chef thought the latter.

Something told him Marco’s drinking had something to do with Ace. Though the arson inspector had insisted they had never met, the man had become rather quiet after he had heard Ace was arrested. And now he was drinking like a fish.

He was startled out of his thoughts when a girl whispered something in his ear and he almost swooned. He shouldn’t worry so much. Marco could deal with his own problems. Or so he thought. Before he could respond to the girl, he saw from the corner of his eye that the head of the arson inspector fallen on the bar. He sighed. “I should go help my friend.” The girls made a disappointed sound. “I’m sorry,” he apologised. “He seems to be very drunk, so I better bring him home. But I promise we will meet again soon.”

“Ah Sanji, you’re such a good friend,” the brunette with the dog sighed.

He smiled at her and was about to pay her some compliment, when Marco almost fell off his bar stool. Cussing to himself, he hurried himself to his friend and helped him on his feet. “Come on, time to go.” He paid the bartender before he directed himself to Marco again. “Give me your car keys.”

The other man glazed at him.

Sanji rolled his eyes. He would have to find the keys himself. Marco didn’t have any breast pockets, so they should be in one of the pockets of his pants. Sighing, Sanji searched him, until he heard something chink. He put his hand in Marco’s left pocket, when he heard giggling behind him. It must look like he was feeling the man up. But no, that couldn’t be the cause of the girls’ merit, they would not have such filthy thoughts. Fishing the keys from Marco’s pocket, he slung the man’s arm around his shoulders, waved at the girls one last time and made his way to Marco’s car.

Somehow, he actually was somewhat glad the arson inspector was drunk, because now he had the chance to drive his awesome car. Sanji hoisted Marco in the passenger’s seat and took place behind the wheel. He didn’t even bother asking the man where he lived. He found a navigation system in the glove compartment and simply pressed on ‘My home’. Fortunately, Marco didn’t live far away from his own house, as he had to walk home.

* * *

 

The next day he received two phone calls. One was from Marco, apologising for his behaviour last night and explaining he normally didn’t drink that much, but right now he was under a lot of stress. Sanji brushed aside his apologies, saying everybody got drunk sometimes. Marco then hung up with a thank-you for bringing him and his car home safely.

The second call came from a number he didn’t know. After staring at his ringing phone for a few seconds, he decided to answer. “Sanji Prince.”

* * *

 

Zoro had been nervous all day. Finally, he had thought of something Sanji could do for him, something that would work for his benefit as well, and now he was trying to find the courage to call the blond. He didn’t really know why he was so anxious. The worst Sanji could do over the phone was laugh at him or yell at him and he was used to that. Taking a deep breath, he dialled the number.

“Sanji Prince.”

When he heard the suave voice, for a second he was taken aback. It wasn’t until the chef asked: “Hello?”, that he cleared his throat and said: “Yeah, Curly-brow?”

“Marimo?” the voice at the other end asked.

Zoro scratched the back of his head. “You’re probably wondering why I’m calling–”

“You’ve thought of a thing I can do.” It almost sounded like a sigh. “Lemme hear it.”

“Well, the thing is, I need a date–”

“I told you, Marimo, I don’t swing that way.”

“It’s not like that!” the swordsman burst out. “If you just would let me finish a damn sentence.” When it stayed silent at the other end of the line, he continued: “This Saturday is my cousin’s wedding. Normally I wouldn’t go to these family events, but I kinda like Vivi, and her fiancé is nice as well. And I’ve already said I would bring my boyfriend.”

“But you don’t have one. You didn’t strike me as the type that cared whether he was single.”

“I don’t. It’s just… Another cousin of mine is coming as well. She’s really annoying, always sneaking up on me like a damn ghost or something. For some reason she seems to think I’m cute and tries to put me in a bear suit.”

It stayed silent for a moment. Then Sanji said: “I’m sorry, I thought you said she wants to put you in a bear suit.”

Zoro sighed. “I did. But now I thought, if I brought my boyfriend, we could act all clingy and she wouldn’t dare to come close.”

“And you want me to act as your boyfriend?”

“That’s right.”

“Why me?”

“Well, I wanted to ask Ace, but that’s not really an option anymore, is it? And perhaps that would be kinda awkward, with his past with Vivi.”

“He dated your cousin?!”

“Briefly. They separated as friends though.”

“And why don’t you take Luffy?”

Zoro snorted. “Why the hell would I want a rubber ball like him to play my boyfriend? Besides, he’s already going as Nami’s date. She’s the maid of honour. She and Vivi were BFF’s in high school, or whatever chicks call it.”

“So, let me get this straight. I have to play your boyfriend during this wedding, and if I do that, I’m out of your debt?”

Zoro shrugged, not realising Sanji could not see him. He never thought Sanji was in his debt in the first place, but the blond had insisted. “If you do a convincing job, sure.”

“Don’t underestimate me, Muscle-head. I’m a great actor.”

“So…” The swordsman hesitated. “Will you do it?”

He heard a click and a hiss, Sanji had lit a cigarette. “Okay.”

Zoro frowned. “Really?” He hadn’t expect the cook to agree so easily.

“Sure, why the hell not? I mean, you could have asked for much worse. But now you’ve already asked for this!” he quickly added.

The green haired man snickered. “You were really anxious about this, weren’t you, Cook?”

“Like hell.” Sanji snorted.

“You do realise what this means, right?” Zoro continued carefully. “You’re going to be my boyfriend, which means I’m gonna touch you.”

“I get it. And don’t make it sound disgusting.”

“Oh, and Cook? That also means no flirting with the bridesmaids.”

“I’ll try.”

“Good. I’ll pick you up Saturday at noon. Don’t be late, Curly-brow.” He hung up before Sanji could make fun of his sense of direction. Which was nothing wrong with. Still, he couldn’t help but smirk. Saturday he had the cook all to himself and could do with him whatever he wanted. Now, let’s see how far he could push the blond.


	5. Chapter 5

Slowly, Sanji inhaled a deep breath of nicotine of what was already his third cigarette. All because of that green haired moron, who was twenty minutes late. Who had dared to tell _him_ to be on time. Stupid directionally challenged Marimo.

Today, it was Saturday, the day of the wedding. The week had gone by too fast for Sanji’s taste, having not looked forward to today at all. Frankly, he was kind of nervous. Sure, he had had girlfriends before, so he knew how to behave as a boyfriend, but was he supposed to act the same if he were dating – or actually pretending to date – a man? He had been thinking about it all week, and he still had no idea. He just had to hope Zoro would take the lead.

It was a good thing it wasn’t raining. Of course, he could go inside, but since Zoro was bad at directions, he couldn’t be any good with numbers. So, the cook just stood and waited, getting more irritated by the minute.

Finally, half an hour late, the dark green rust-bucket Zoro called a car pulled up in front of him. Sanji crushed the butt of his cigarette with the sole of his shoe and opened the car door. “Got lost, Marimo?”

“Not my fault if they keep changing the street plans,” the swordsman muttered.

“Nobody changed anything.” The blond climbed into the car and examined Zoro from head to foot. He wore a nice black suit, with a white shirt underneath and a grey waistcoat. Around his neck, he had a black tie, which hung a bit loose. He also wore his characteristic three earrings, but for some reason it made him look more handsome. “You actually look pretty good,” the blond remarked a little surprised.

“What, you thought I would turn up in my sweats, or something?” Zoro said scornful.

“It wouldn’t have surprised me.”

The swordsman snorted, but from the corner of his eye, he observed the blond. He didn’t look bad himself. He also wore a black suit, a bit fancier than his usual ones, with six golden buttons. Underneath he had a dark yellow shirt and a black tie. For some reason he had decided to wear his hair over his other eye, which revealed that his left eyebrow curled the same way as on the other side, making his face asymmetrical if his hair hadn’t covered it. Zoro decided he liked this style; Sanji’s blond hair was a bit more ruffled than usual, perhaps because of the wind. He also had a good maintained goatee and a small moustache, which looked good on him. He looked more mature, and very sexy.

“It’s quite an early wedding,” Sanji noted, as they pulled up on the motorway.

“It’s a two hour drive.”

The blond raised a curly eyebrow and then chuckled. “Two hours for you or for a normal human being?”

Zoro scowled at him, but didn’t say anything. He had really looked forward to today. From excitement, he had barely slept last night. He still didn’t know how he was going to act or how far he could go, but he would cross that bridge when he came to it. At least he would spent the day with the blond chef, touching him, listening to his nice baritone… How great would it be if that sexy voice said his actual name? Or better yet, moan it when he thrust deep inside him…

“Marimo?” said voice asked. “You missed the exit. Again.”

The green haired man shook his head, hoping that the images of a naked Sanji would disappear.

Fortunately, his navigation system calculated a new route, which – if followed – still had them on time for the wedding.

Sanji played with a cigarette, putting it in his mouth before taking it out again. Zoro raised an eyebrow. “You can smoke if you like. Ya nervous?” he added with a smirk.

“Why the hell would I be nervous?” The chef patted his pants in search for his lighter.

The swordsman shrugged.

“But,” the blond bit his lip, “how are we going to do this?”

Zoro shrugged again. “We’ll attend the wedding. You don’t have to do much.” A smirk crept up his face. “Just sit next to me and look pretty.”

Sanji’s cheeks flushed in anger. “Don’t call me pretty, asshole!” Then he mumbled: “I already regret this.”

The rest of the drive they sat mostly in silence. Sanji had cracked open the window a bit to let the smoke escape. Zoro couldn’t help but peek over his shoulder from time to time. Usually, he didn’t really like smokers, but Sanji made it look like how it was supposed to be, sexy. The green haired man was fascinated by the blond’s lips, how they wrapped themselves around the filter. The chef could do so much good if those lips were around something else…

A yank at the steering wheel pulled him back to reality. “Are you trying to kill us?” Sanji snapped at him. “Quit spacing out, will ya?”

“Sorry.” Zoro rubbed his eyes. “Didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Why, were you nervous?” the blond teased. “Afraid I looked too dashing? Alas, I am even more handsome than you could ever imagine.”

“Could your ego get any bigger?” Zoro mumbled. Though, it annoyed the hell out of him that the cook was spot on.

* * *

The wedding was held in a beautiful little church, but before Sanji let Zoro go in, he fixed the swordsman’s tie for him. Fortunately, they were still in time. “Are you here for the bride or the groom?” The usher looked up from his clipboard. “Oh, never mind. Zoro, right? In the church on the left side are your seats.”

Zoro nodded and walked in, closely followed by Sanji. The blond was a little surprised at the reaction of the usher, but that feeling disappeared when he saw the family of the bride. On the left side of the church, all he could see were heads full of brightly coloured hair. He had thought Zoro would be the only one with oddly coloured hair, but now he himself started to feel like the odd man out. Zoro took a seat and pulled the cook beside him, while Sanji stared his eyes out. Many of Zoro’s relatives had pink hair, but some also had purple or blue. He didn’t see much green though. The family of the groom looked normal.

The groom was already standing by the altar. He was a tall, blond man with glasses, a scar running over his left eye, but other than that he appeared quite friendly. Next to him stood the priest, a broad man with light blond hair. He had three large curls on each side of his head.

“The groom over there is Kohza and the guy beside him is called Igaram. He’s a close friend of the family,” Zoro explained softly. “The two men behind them are Chaka and Pell, they’re Vivi’s best friends.”

At that moment, the organ started to play. Several bridesmaids entered, amongst whom was Nami. She wore a long red dress and was accompanied by a man with half-long dark pink hair. Sanji sighed at seeing her. “She sure looks lovely.”

“Stay focussed, Cook, you’re here with me,” Zoro muttered.

The blond cast him a glance. “I know that. That doesn’t mean I’m happy about it.”

Finally, the bride came in. Her light blue hair was covered with a veil. She was accompanied by a stern looking man with black curly hair and a goatee. Vivi looked really happy as she strode to the altar.

The priest cleared his throat. “Mah~mah~mah~ Dearly beloved…”

* * *

After the ceremony, the reception was held at a hotel nearby, with a rented hall large enough to accommodate Vivi’s big – and colourful – family. There were long tables filled with food and room to dance. A band cared for the music.

A bit uncomfortable, Sanji stood next to Zoro, who, much to his annoyance, looked quite relaxed. The blond had no idea what to do next. Fate decided that for him, as Nami saw them and walked up to them. “Hey Zoro. Sanji, what are you doing here?” she asked.

“Hello, Nami-swan.” The blond bowed as she reluctantly let him kiss her hand.

“He’s my date,” Zoro said with a smirk.

A grin appeared on her face. “I knew it.”

“It’s not like that, my swan.” The chef gave the swordsman a kick in the shin. “I just owed Moss-head a favour, so he asked me to come with to keep his cousin at a distance.”

“Perona,” Zoro clarified. “Have you seen her?”

“That Lolita-girl? Ah, there she is right now. Perona!”

A pink haired girl strolled over to them, while Zoro uttered curses in Nami’s direction. A group of Zoro’s cousins gathered around them.

“Everyone, have you all met Zoro’s boyfriend?” the orange haired girl asked with a mischievous smile. “This is Sanji.”

The blond stood frozen. Sure, he was here to pretend to date Zoro, but he couldn’t believe his beautiful Nami announced it so bluntly.

“Sanji, why don’t you give your _boyfriend_ a kiss?”

The chef exchanged a look with the swordsman, who just shrugged. Sanji sighed. What had he gotten himself into? Zoro’s cousins encouraged them, so as he was not one to disappoint ladies, he took a deep breath and gave the green haired man a quick peck on the lips.

“That’s not a kiss,” Nami said slyly, “give him a proper one.”

Zoro, who was just about to tell her to knock it off, was taken by surprise when the blond suddenly threw himself at the swordsman and smashed their lips together. He stumbled a few paces backwards before he collected himself and wrapped his arms around Sanji.

“Oh my,” Nami mumbled.

Perona said something about Zoro being uncute, but the man hardly listened. After all, how often did it happen that he had Sanji’s surprisingly soft lips pressed against his?

“Oi Nami, look at all the meat they have here!” Luffy came skipping towards them holding a plate full of meat, or rather a pile of meat with a plate hidden underneath it. When he saw Sanji and Zoro he tilted his head in confusion. “Why are they kissing?”

Nami chuckled. “Because they’re dating.” Her boyfriend shrugged, accepting it as a fact and Sanji had to suppress the urge to yell they weren’t. Instead, he just kept kissing Zoro.

One by one, the girls surrounding them left, until it was just the two of them. Sanji let go and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“What the hell?” Zoro exclaimed when he found his voice back.

The blond shrugged and scratched the back of his head embarrassed. “She asked for a proper kiss. I can’t defy a lady. And that’s a proper kiss in my vocabulary.”

A smirk appeared on Zoro’s face. “So if she asked you to let me fuck you in the middle of this room, you would let me?”

Sanji scowled at him. “Don’t push it, Marimo.”

“You really are an idiot, Love-cook,” the green haired man said shaking his head.

“What was that, Muscle-brain?” Forgetting the part he was supposed to play, Sanji raised his leg and gave the other man a kick in his ribs.

Zoro grunted and wanted to counter, when an innocent – and rather annoying – voice asked: “Trouble in paradise?”

The swordsman turned around brusquely, looking straight in Perona’s face. “You wish,” he snorted as he pulled Sanji against him. The chef smiled politely, but in the meantime, he pressed the heel of his dress shoe inconspicuous into Zoro’s foot. The green haired man managed to keep a straight face, but planned to kill the blond later.

Perona snorted. “You would look so much cuter in the bear suit. Without that uncute boyfriend.”

Sanji, falling out of character again, yanked himself loose. “I’m sorry, it’s not my habit to contradict a lady, certainly not such a beautiful one such as yourself, but how on _earth_ can you think he’s cute and I’m not?!”

She looked at him unimpressed, but Zoro pulled the blond towards him. “You’re cute when you’re angry.”

The chef glared daggers at him. Fortunately, Perona got distracted when she saw a black cat walking outside and skipped away. Sanji shoved his elbow in the swordsman’s still rather painful ribs and he stalked off, leaving behind a snickering Zoro. “Stupid Moss-head,” the blond mumbled. He needed a drink. Fortunately, a waiter holding a tray filled with glasses of champagne just walked by and the blond snatched a glass. But before the beverage touched his lips, he stopped. He shouldn’t drink, remembering the last time what had happened with the combination Zoro and booze. On the other hand, he had just kissed the swordsman. How could he survive this day without alcohol? Keeping that in mind, he drained the glass in one. One glass couldn’t hurt, right?

Feeling strengthened by the alcohol, he searched for his supposed boyfriend. He saw the swordsman standing with Vivi’s friends, Chaka and Pell. He strolled over to them, immediately getting a glass of champagne pressed into his hand. Not wanting to be impolite or to waste the drink, he took a small sip and listened to the conversation after Zoro had introduced him. Apparently,the three men were childhood friends and had sparred often when they were younger.

Chaka was a strong looking man with a dark skin and half-long black hair. His friend Pell was a lot paler and wore black make-up underneath his eyes. He was leaning on Chaka’s shoulder the whole time they were talking.

After a while, the friends of the bride excused themselves. Sanji followed the two men with his eyes before he asked Zoro: “Are those two…” He made a vague gesture with his hand, which the swordsman didn’t seem to get, so the blond sighed and continued: “Are they an item?”

Zoro shrugged. “It wouldn’t surprise me. They’re very close. But if they are, they haven’t announced it yet.”

The next person they got to talking to was the father of the bride, Cobra. Though he appeared to be a stern man, he actually was pretty cheery. He pressed Sanji another glass of champagne in his hands and began telling stories about Zoro when he was young and played with Vivi and her friends. Sanji was especially interested in the story where the green haired man – then still a boy – was sparring with Pell, when he tripped over Vivi’s pet duck, Carue. Vivi had been worried, but the bird had proven himself capable to defend himself: he had bitten Zoro.

“I still have the scar,” the swordsman grouched.

The chef burst into laughter. “You were attacked by a duck?” he hiccupped. He had hardly noticed it, but his third glass was almost empty.

For some reason, every time he and Zoro talked to someone, his glass seemed to be full. He tried to make the champagne last, but even taking small sips, he had already had four glasses – maybe five, he couldn’t remember. He knew he should just refuse, but he didn’t want to waste it – it was good champagne – or be impolite. The most annoying part though, was that Zoro must have had twice as many glasses and didn’t show any sign of even tipsiness. Sanji himself on the other hand was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol. But he wouldn’t show that to the swordsman – as he knew what had happened last time he got drunk. So he tried to behave as normal as possible.

“So everyone here is cool with you being gay?” That was a normal question, wasn’t it?

Zoro shrugged. “Most of ‘em. Some just don’t care.”

“Still, I expected there to be at least one homophobic uncle or something.”

“Well, there is. Not that I care, though.”

One visible curly eyebrow was lifted. “Who?”

Zoro nodded his head towards a man with lavender hair – therefore family of Zoro – who stood a few feet away. When he turned around, Sanji saw he wore a leather mask, which covered most of his face.

“The guy with the mask? _He_ ’s the judgmental one?”

“Yup, that’s Spandam. Not sure why he’s here though. Nobody likes him. Vivi probably just invited him to be polite.”

Sanji mused for a moment, but then grabbed Zoro’s hand. The green haired man was surprised, but let himself be dragged along. His confusion grew as the chef pushed him against the wall and smashed their lips together. Still, how often had he a – slightly drunk; yeah, he’d noticed – blond rubbing up against him? He decided it was probably one of the cook’s whims and let his hands explore Sanji’s body.

The blond pulled back a little, slightly panting. “Is he watching?” he murmured against Zoro’s lips.

Suddenly, the swordsman understood what the cook was doing – though, why he was doing it was a mystery. His eyes flicked to Spandam, who stared at them disgusted.

“Oh, he’s looking alright,” the swordsman smirked.

Sanji switched their positions, so that he was the one with his back against the wall and could keep his eye on Spandam. Zoro didn’t care, he finally got what he wanted – well, a part of it – so he was going to enjoy it to the fullest. He let his lips wander over the cook’s well-shaped jaw, down to his neck. The blond stroked with his hand through the swordsman’s green strands. He rolled his eyes towards Zoro’s uncle and arched his back like he was really enjoying what his “boyfriend” was doing. It wasn’t even as bad as he expected.

Spandam made a face and walked away, making Sanji smirk. “Okay, he’s gone now.”

When Zoro didn’t stop, he gave the green haired man a smack on the head. “Oi, shithead! You can stop now.”

Much to the swordsman’s dislike, he stopped nibbling on the blond’s neck and looked at the grinning man.

“That was funnier than I expected. You should have seen his face.”

“What the hell did you do that for? You’re not gay.”

“No, but I am a romantic.” Sanji placed an unlit cigarette between his lips. “I believe two people in love should be together, and no one has the right to stand between them. Especially not narrow-minded shitheads like your uncle. No offence.”

“But, we’re not in love. Are we?” Zoro asked unintelligently.

The blond looked at him with a frown. “Of course not. But he _thinks_ we are–” He waited a second and then asked slowly: “Zoro, are you… hard?”

The swordsman clenched his teeth. He had hoped the chef wouldn’t notice. After years of intense training and meditation, his body still betrayed him. “It… It’s just been a while, okay?” he sighed eventually embarrassed. “Just wait a little.”

Sanji nodded, making a mental note to make fun of the green haired man later. Now, it felt too awkward.

When Zoro felt ready again, he and the chef strolled outside, so that the blond could smoke. The swordsman didn’t want to be left alone, he knew for sure he would be wearing a bear suit in no time. Damn witch.

Outside, a photographer was taking pictures of the newlyweds. When Vivi spotted Zoro, she excused herself and ran over to him, holding up the skirt of her wedding dress. She threw her arms around him. “I’m so happy you came! And you even brought your boyfriend.” She let go of her cousin and looked at Sanji smiling.

Up close, the chef could see how pretty the bride was. She had soft-looking light blue hair, as he had already noticed, a pale skin and dark eyes. The white wedding dress she was wearing enclosed her slim body. “It is a pleasure to meet you,” he said after she had introduced herself and kissed her hand gently, much to the annoyance of her new husband.

She giggled and then said: “So tell me everything! How did you guys meet?”

Sanji and Zoro exchanged a look. They hadn’t prepared for this question. The swordsman scratched the back of his head embarrassed. “Well–” he began, but the blond interrupted him.

“It was a cold and rainy evening when I sat alone at the bus stop…”

Zoro’s jaw dropped as the blond retold the events of the night they met – leaving out a few details, of course. It was brilliant, they didn’t even need to lie, just bent the truth a little.

“And one thing led to another,” Sanji concluded his story.

Vivi listened with eyes aglow. “That’s so romantic,” she sighed. “How long have you two been dating now?”

“A little over a week,” the cook answered.

“Really? Why didn’t you say something when I called you a few days ago? I had to hear from Perona you would bring a date,” the bride said accusingly to Zoro.

The swordsman was at a loss, but Sanji came to his rescue again. “I’m afraid that’s my fault, my dear. You see, I don’t know that long I’m attracted to men, so I asked Zoro to keep it a secret for a while. But as you can see, I’m over it now.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Her cheeks were flushed.

Sanji smiled reassuring, when the photographer called Vivi over. She turned to the two men and smiled. “Well, I’m glad you’re both here. And Sanji? Please take good care of him.” With that, she walked away.

“Well, now I feel guilty,” the chef mumbled, taking a last puff of his cigarette before crushing it out.

“Don’t. Contrary of what she might think, I’m fine on my own,” Zoro replied gruff. Though, he wouldn’t be opposed to have this blond in his bed every once in a while…

“So, you wouldn’t want a boyfriend?” Sanji asked as they strolled back into the hotel.

The green haired man shrugged. “It’s such a hassle. And it probably involves a lot of bickering–”

“We do that already.”

He stood still, dumbfounded, and stared at the blond man. “You know you’re not really my boyfriend, right?”

Sanji’s cheeks flushed. Stupid alcohol. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just– Anyway, you don’t really strike me as the boyfriend type,” he skipped hastily over the subject. “They probably only buy that we’re dating because of my acting talent.”

Zoro snorted. “Could you have a bigger ego?”

“It’s called self-knowledge,” the blond answered with a smirk.

Meanwhile, they had entered the hall again. “If you’re so amazing, than why don’t you dance with me?” The swordsman held out his hand.

Sanji stared down at the hand. “I didn’t know Neanderthals knew how to dance,” he sneered.

“Better than you, I bet.”

That did it. Sanji grabbed Zoro’s hand and the challenge was accepted. On the dance floor, they struggled for a while trying to decide who would take the female position. The blond finally gave in; it wasn’t like that muscle-head could handle a delicate position like that, anyway. They danced for a while when the chef had to admit: “You’re better at this than I expected.”

The green haired man let his hand slide a little further down and repressed the urge to place it on Sanji’s perfect ass. He leaned in a little closer and said with a deep voice in the blond’s ear: “I’m full of surprises.” He felt the man stiffen a bit and smirked to himself.

Sanji placed his head on Zoro’s shoulder. It might be the alcohol working, but at this moment, he didn’t care anymore. He had already made out with the swordsman – twice – in front of all these beautiful women, including Nami. But he had promised Zoro he would do a convincing job, so that’s what he would do. After all, what was a man without his word?

“You’re really getting the hang of this boyfriend stuff, hm?”

He could almost feel the vibrations of the swordsman’s low voice. “I’m just keeping my promise.”

The band started a new song. Zoro turned the chef around, so that his back was against the swordsman’s chest. The blond leaned back a little and the green haired man nuzzled his nose into the golden strands. He would never say it aloud, but Sanji was really doing a good job. It actually felt like he was dancing with his boyfriend. Shit.

“So that Perona girl really doesn’t like me, does she?” the blond broke the silence, still leaning against Zoro.

“That’s just because you prevent her from putting me in a bear costume,” the other man grunted.

“It is quite an obsession of hers, isn’t it?” Sanji mused. “Did she ever pull it off?”

“Once. But only because I was unconscious.”

“Really?” The cook started to laugh. “I would like to see that.”

“I destroyed all the evidence.”

Sanji looked over his shoulder to the swordsman. “Then why are you telling me? You know I’m going to make fun of you.”

“Then tell me something embarrassing about you.”

“Why should I?”

The green haired man smirked. “Because if you don’t, I’m telling everyone you’re a virgin.”

“I’m not! Okay, fine,” the blond gave in. “But this stays between us, right?”

“If you keep the bear suit thing to yourself.”

“Okay…” Sanji lowered his eyes. “I… never had a blow-job before.”

“You mean before I–”

“Shut up, we don’t talk about that anymore,” the blond spat. “And it’s not like I can ask a delicate lady to do something as filthy as that.”

Zoro chuckled in his ear. “Filthy? But you rather enjoyed it…”

“S-shut up.” He felt his cheeks heating up. Stupid Moss-head.

Still, they kept dancing. Every once in a while they heard a girl giggle or whisper something to a friend. They stayed on the dance floor, until Sanji said: “I’m getting hungry. Let’s get something to eat.”

Zoro hummed in agreement and followed the cook to the table with hors d’oeuvres. He grabbed some things that looked familiar and loaded them on a plate, while Sanji inspected the different dishes and carefully picked his food.

The green haired man crammed down his food and then yawned. He was still pretty tired. The cook sat down next to him. He picked up a cracker with something reddish on it, took a small bite and then made a surprised sound. “This is pretty good. Here, try it.”

Zoro stared at the hors d’oeuvre and raised an eyebrow. To him, it looked like red goo.

Sanji rolled his eyes. “It’s hummus, barbarian. It’s made of mashed chickpeas, and in this case it’s mixed with beets. Those give it its colour.” Even though he had encouraged Zoro to take a bite, he hadn’t expected the man’s head to shoot forward and eat the cracker right out of his hand. Much less, that he would lick the last of the hummus off Sanji’s fingers.

“’s good,” the swordsman commented, and smirked when he saw the blond’s flushed face.

“D-don’t do that!”

He received a smack to the back of his head, but still chuckled.

The blond mumbled something about stupid Marimo’s and then concentrated on his food again.

Zoro yawned, laid his head on the cook’s shoulder and closed his eyes. It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep.

Sanji let him be. Hell, they had been closer than this today. He just kept tasting the appetisers, and made mental notes of which ingredient they were lacking or of what too much was added. It took him a while to notice the beautiful woman who was standing in front of him, tapping her foot impatiently on the floor. She had light pink hair and between her lips dangled an unlit cigarette. He slapped himself mentally for making a lady wait. “May I help you?” he asked politely, resisting the urge to kiss her hand.

She watched him for a second and then kicked Zoro in the shin.

The man started awake, exclaiming: “Dammit, Sanji!”, before rubbing his eyes and looking at the woman in front of him. “Oh, it’s you.”

Which earned him another kick. “Is that how you greet your favourite aunt?”

He groaned. “Hello, aunt Hina.”

“That’s better. Here’s your room key.”

Zoro took the key she was holding with a confused look on his face. “What room?”

“Has no one told you?” She sighed as if she always had to do things herself. “Because we are with such a large group, the hotel has offered us rooms with discount for those who come from far away. You two have a long drive to make, so you get a room.”

Sanji jumped to his feet. “B-but I can’t stay. I-I have stuff to do tomorrow!” He hadn’t really, but sleeping in one room with Zoro? That was where he drew the line.

“Then you’ll just have to leave early in the morning. You both have been drinking, so Hina is not letting you drive home.” She gave them a warning look. “And if Hina catches you sneaking out before tomorrow, you will face the consequences.” With that, she walked away.

The blond looked defeated to the floor. “We can’t stay…”

“Fine, then you go tell Hina we’re leaving. But let me warn ya, no one defies her. She’s a cop and takes her job very seriously. And she’s not afraid to arrest family,” Zoro added.

“I’m not defying her, she’s a lady.” The cook sunk down in his seat and covered his eyes with his hands, groaning. “This is the worst!”

“You could always ask for a separate room,” the swordsman suggested with reluctance.

“I can’t do that either,” Sanji snapped. “If I leave you alone, Perona will be all over you in no time.”

“I’m touched that you’re so worried about me,” the green haired man said teasing.

“I’m not worried about you, shithead! I promised to pretend to be your boyfriend to keep _her away from you_. And I’m a man of my word,” he concluded.

Zoro kept silent during the other man’s rant. He couldn’t hide his smirk. Sure, he had something else in mind when he wished for the blond in his bed, but it was a start. This promised to be a fun night.

 

 

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

Reluctantly, Sanji pressed the elevator button. He had been smoking outside for almost an hour, trying not to freak out. He was supposed to be Zoro’s boyfriend, and he couldn’t leave the man alone, in case Perona showed up. Him and his big mouth. Why had he promised to play the marimo’s boyfriend _during the wedding_ – of which this was an extension – instead of just one day?

With a soft ‘ping’ the elevator doors slid open. The elevator was empty – thank God – and the two of them strolled in.

“Hold the elevator!”

Just as Sanji pressed the button for the sixth floor, a very heavyset woman and her equally stout husband came running towards them. Sanji, who had never let down a lady, pressed the button to hold the doors open, and immediately regretted it when the two people squeezed themselves into the tiny elevator. The blond got pressed against Zoro, who instinctively wrapped a protective arm around him.

The woman turned around. “Thank you for that. My, aren’t you the cutest couple? Aren’t they adorable, Frank?” Saying that, she pinched Sanji’s cheek.

“Yes dear,” Frank answered obediently.

The blond decided just to smile politely and kick Zoro in the shin for snickering. Fortunately, the woman and her husband got out on the third floor. After they had left, Sanji took a relieved breath and rubbed his still painful cheek.

The swordsman chuckled. “I can’t believe you let her do that.”

“Shut up. She’s a lady.”

Knowing that having a discussion about this would lead to nowhere, Zoro just shook his head. When they reached their floor, he checked the key which room number they had. 612, it read.

“Please have separate beds, please have separate beds…” Such was Sanji’s mantra as Zoro stuck the key in the lock. When the swordsman opened the door, the blond groaned. Of course, there was just one double bed.

The rest of the room was fairly simple decorated. There were – one on each side of the bed – two nightstands, a television and a wardrobe, which they wouldn’t use of course, as they didn’t bring any extra clothes. They also had a small bathroom attached to the room.

Zoro jumped on the bed and stretched himself. “This isn’t so bad, is it?”

Sanji hung his jacket over a chair. “Sleeping with you in one room? Of course it’s bad!” he snorted.

“Bed’s pretty good.” The swordsman smirked. “Good spring action.”

The blond carefully sat down, before he was pulled in a lying position by Zoro.

“See?”

“Not so rough, Marimo!”

Suddenly, they heard loud knocking on the door. “Zoro!” They both froze when they recognised the voice of Perona.

Within a second, the swordsman sat up and turned towards Sanji, sitting on his knees. “Quick, pretend we’re fucking. That will scare her off.”

“Wha–” The true meaning of his words slowly got through to the chef, when the other man started to shake the bars at the head of the bed. “No way! Stop that.” Zoro gave him a pinch and he yelped.

“So you like it rough?” the green haired man smirked, earning him a kick in the stomach.

“Do you?” the blond snapped.

Footsteps left their door hastily. Zoro grinned, but kept rattling at the bars.

“She’s gone now,” Sanji said irritated.

“I know, but I don’t want our neighbours think I lack stamina.”

“You?!”

The swordsman gave the bars one last shake and came off the bed. “Why, did you want to top?” It was just too much fun to embarrass the cook, even though he knew he would regret it if he pushed it too far. But for now the blond just flushed.

Zoro threw his jacket on the bed. “I’m gonna take a shower.”

“Now just wait a second! I could have just told her you were in the shower! Then we wouldn’t had to have put on this… this show.”

The green haired man shrugged. “What’s the big deal? She thinks you’re my boyfriend, right? Therefore, we have sex.” He took a step in the blond’s direction. “Or had you rather stayed a virgin until we were married?” he teased.

He had gone too far. He knew that the instant he saw the one visible eye of the chef, dark with rage. The swordsman fled into the bathroom, not because he was scared of course, but to keep the room intact.

When he was done showering – he had taken his time so the cook could cool off – Sanji was lying on the bed in his boxers, wearing his reading glasses and leafing through a TV guide.

He looked up when Zoro came out of the bathroom. The swordsman wore a towel around his waist and was drying his hair with another one.

At the foot of the bed the green haired man stopped. “What’s with you and the glasses?”

Sanji rolled his eyes. “They’re reading glasses, what do you think? Besides,” he continued with a smirk, “I look hot with ‘em.”

Zoro snorted, but the blond took his glasses off and licked seductively at one of the arms. The swordsman’s mouth went dry and he had to restrain himself not to jump the chef right there. Instead, he just muttered: “Che,” and proceeded drying his hair.

With a soft flop, the towel around his waist dropped on the floor. He ignored it for the time being –though he was glad he had his body under control this time, the blond would probably have a heart attack if he caught the swordsman with an erection twice – but Sanji exclaimed: “O-oi! Put that away!” He blocked the view with his hand and turned his head away.

“Well, you didn’t believe my hair colour was real,” Zoro grinned. “Now you know.”

“Don’t you think I got that already after seeing your freakish family?! Now, cover yourself up!”

Snickering, the green haired man bent down, giving the blond a nice view of his naked ass – were he looking – and then strolled over to the bathroom to put something on. He came back out wearing only his trousers.

“You’re gonna sleep in that? That’s a shame, they’ll get all wrinkly and you still have to wear them tomorrow,” Sanji commented with a frown.

Zoro shrugged. “You’ve made it perfectly clear that you don’t want to see me without them.”

“Then you wear you boxers like m–” Seeing the smirk on the swordsman’s face, his words got through to him. “You’re going commando? That better not be a rented suit!”

The swordsman snickered and dodged the pillow that was thrown to his head. “Nah, it’s mine.” He walked to the mini bar near the TV. “Ya want something?”

The blond raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that stuff really expensive?”

“I’m not paying for the room,” Zoro shrugged.

“Me neither! I don’t even have a job.”

“Then Hina and the others have to cough up the money. Now, do you want something or not?”

“Just give me something non-alcoholic.”

The green haired man plopped on the bed snickering, holding a beer, a cola and a can of macadamia nuts. “Still don’t trust yourself, Cook?”

“It’s you who I don’t trust!” The effects from the champagne were starting to wear off and he wanted to hit himself in the head for kissing Zoro like he’d done earlier.

“Someone had to deflower you.” That earned him another smack with a pillow.

Sanji snorted and sipped from his beverage. The swordsman looked at him, his eyes wandering the slim figure of the man. The first night he had had a nice view already, even from what lay beneath those boxers, and today he had even been allowed to have a feel.

“So what do you do?”

He had been so busy staring at the blond’s body and fantasising what he could do with it – he had already seen some of his limberness – that he interpreted the question probably not how Sanji had mend it. Well, what and who sound a lot alike, don’t they?

But before making an ass of himself, he was smart enough to ask: “W-what?”

“What do you do? For a living, I mean,” the blond repeated.

That question made more sense, though the swordsman preferred the other one. “I’m a private detective.”

“No way!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” he grouched back.

“Well, you don’t strike me as a thinking kind of guy.” Seeing that came out the wrong way, Sanji sighed and added: “I mean, with a body like yours… You know!”

Was he imagining it or was the chef blushing? “I also freelance as a bodyguard, with this though economy and all.”

“See? That makes more sense!” Sanji exclaimed, happy he was able to explain himself.

They were silent for a while, both sipping from their beverages and chewing on the macadamia nuts. Then the cook asked: “When did you actually know you were gay?”

The swordsman almost choked on a nut. He had not expected that question, especially not from the blond. He coughed and wiped the tears from his eyes.

“You okay?” Sanji almost sounded concerned.

“Yeah… Why the hell do you want to know that for?” Zoro took a sip of his beer to calm his throat.

The chef shrugged. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m just curious. I barely know a thing about you, and yet here I am lying in bed with you.” The cook looked at him with his curly eyebrow raised.

“And this is the first thing you think of?”

“Geez, forget I asked already! I didn’t know you were shy about it.”

“Fine, if you really want to know. I just have never been interested in girls. In secondary school, my friends Johnny and Yosaku had tons of girlfriends and they tried to set me up with some chicks. But I always found some excuse not to date them again. Most of the time they just weren’t interesting–”

“How could a wonderful lady not be interesting?” Sanji interrupted him, and it wouldn’t have surprised Zoro if his eyes turned into hearts.

“Would you shut up and listen to the story? You’re the one that wanted to know. Anyway, at that time I thought it was the girls that weren’t interesting, it wasn’t until later I realised it might just be me who wasn’t interested in girls.”

“So when did you find out?”

“College. Actually, it was because of Ace.” A slight smile appeared on his face. “I was roommates with Luffy back then. Ace and I met at a party, and well, one thing led to another…”

“You slept with Ace?!” the blond exclaimed.

“Just once. He helped me come out. Ace likes his freedom. Not that I mind, I mean, he helped me a lot, but he isn’t really my type.”

“Then what is your type?” the blond asked, wondering if the alcohol had still effect on his brain.

Zoro eyed the cook. It was tempting to answer tall, blond and sexy, but that would make things rather awkward. “I’m choosier than ‘has to have a cock’, like you are with girls and breasts,” he said scornful.

“You just don’t understand the beauty of a woman’s bosom.”

“You’re right about that. So what about you?” he asked with a smirk.

“What about me?”

“When did you came out of the closet?” the swordsman asked slyly.

Sanji flushed. “What? I’m not fucking gay!”

Zoro had to bite his tongue not to make a remark about the blond’s choice of words, but then said: “As my boyfriend you are.”

“No, we’re sticking to what I’ve told Vivi: that you’re the first guy I’ve fallen for. And that makes me bi,” the blond snapped. “I mean, that makes my character bi,” he added a little flushed.

Zoro snickered. “Okay, now tell me something personal about you.”

He shrugged. “There is not much to tell.”

“What about your childhood? Zeff raised you, right?”

The chef nodded. “I was young when my folks died, I don’t remember much about them. I was put in an orphanage. But I didn’t like it there, so when I was nine I ran away. I kept myself alive by stealing food. One day I was reckless and decided to try my luck in a restaurant, the Baratie. Of course, Zeff caught me.” A nostalgic smile appeared on his face.

“What did he do?”

The blond snorted. “What do you think? He kicked the crap out of me. But as I was hungry, he fed me after. I stayed at his home and earned my food by washing the dishes in the Baratie. After a few months, I discovered the old fart had officially adopted me. He had tracked down the orphanage I had lived in and signed all the papers. I got rebellious when I found out. I picked up smoking to prove I was a man, and I didn’t need a parent to look after me. He kicked me again. Nothing really changed, though. He taught me how to cook at home and allowed me to go to Japan and France to learn those cooking styles. When I got back from France, I applied for a job at the Baratie. The old geezer never went easy on me, so I had to prove myself. Of course, he couldn’t deny my skills,” he added with a cocky smile.

“How long have you been abroad?”

“In Japan only two months. But I was in France for a year.”

“Then you must speak pretty good French.”

The blond grinned. “ _Bien sûr je parle Français_.” (*)

Zoro had never thought a language could sound this sexy. But the chef had a gift of making anything sound sexy…

“Now you tell something again.”

“I already told something personal,” the swordsman argued, shaken from his thoughts.

“Not about your childhood. I spilled my whole sad story. Now it’s your turn.”

Zoro scratched the back of his head. “Well, I’m an orphan too. I was adopted by a man named Koshiro. He was a close friend of my dad’s. Koshiro already had a daughter, Kuina. He taught us both kendo, but I could never beat her. When she was thirteen, she fell down the stairs and died from a broken neck. I stayed with Koshiro for a few years, before I went to Japan to become a master swordsman.”

“Then you must speak pretty good Japanese,” Sanji teased.

“ _Mochiron nihongo wo hanasu_ ,” he got as his answer. (**)

Zoro stretched himself on the bed. “Aside from Kuina’s death, my childhood wasn’t so bad.”

“It’s bad enough, moron.” Sanji plopped a macadamia nut in the swordsman’s mouth. Zoro resisted the urge to lick the man’s hand again, as this time he didn’t have an excuse to. Instead, he settled for looking at him, the blond staring back. It was like the blue orb was penetrating his very soul. He could still see only one eye, for some reason the curtain of hair still managed to cover his right one. Of course, he knew what it hid, as Sanji had changed his hairstyle after they had met, but it was tempting anyway to stroke with his hands through the golden locks and see his face as a whole – asymmetric eyebrows included.

The blond chef coughed to break the silence, which had become a little awkward with Zoro’s intense gazing. Surely, someone else had sympathised with him before? “In the TV guide I saw there’s some samurai film on. You wanna watch?”

When the swordsman shrugged, he turned on the television. While they watched the movie, Sanji glanced over to the other man every once in a while. He seemed to be quite relaxed, sipping from his beer. Nothing indicated he was aware of the ‘moment’ they had just now. The blond shook his head. He had probably just imagined it.

“Che,” Zoro disturbed his thoughts.

He sat up a little. “What?”

The swordsman pointed at the TV with his beer bottle. “If he’d done that in real life, his head would be off by now.”

Smiling, Sanji listened to his comments about the sword fighting and the swords. The green haired man really knew a lot about it. Halfway through the film, though, the blond started to doze off.

Zoro turned off the TV – it was a bad movie anyway, though he did enjoy watching it with the cook — and pulled the blankets over them. After he had turned off the lights, it soon became silent in the room.

* * *

When Sanji woke up, it was still dark outside. Next to him lay Zoro snoring, still fast asleep. Still, the snoring wasn’t what had woken him. On the contrary, it was oddly soothing.

But despite being under the blankets, he was still shivering. It was very cold in the room. Quietly, he got out of the bed and walked to the heater. It felt cold, but even after turning the knob he didn’t hear any water flowing. He wrapped his arms around himself, rubbing his arms and cursing the broken heater. He felt the urge to kick it, but decided not to, as he probably would break it even more.

He heard shifting in the bed behind him as Zoro sat up straight. The blond hadn’t realised the snoring had ceased.

“What are you doing?” the green haired man yawned.

“Nothing, I’m just a little cold. Go back to sleep.”

Instead of listening Zoro flipped back the covers and strolled over to him. “Heater doesn’t work?”

Sanji felt the radiator. “Doesn’t seem to.” He suppressed a shiver.

“Then why don’t you put on your shirt?”

“Because it will get wrinkly and I still have to show my face to all those lovely lady’s tomorrow,” the cook snapped.

The swordsman yawned again and then grabbed Sanji’s hand. “Come on, I’ll warm you up.”

When the cook didn’t move, he sighed. “Not like that, you pervert cook. Just trust me, okay?”

Reluctantly, the blond let himself be dragged to the bed again and pulled under the covers. He turned his back to Zoro, still not sure what the man was up to. The swordsman lay down behind him and wrapped his arm around the cook’s slim frame, pulling him close.

The blond had half a mind to struggle, but Zoro was nice and warm, and he was very tired. He didn’t even object when the swordsman nuzzled his nose in his blond hair and murmured: “I liked how you looked today, Cook.”

* * *

 _When he opened his eyes, he couldn’t move his hands, as they were tied up over his head. He knew this dream; it was to show how weak he still was. In only a moment,_ he _would be here to tell him that. That he shouldn’t let himself be snuck up to, let alone be tied up._

_Just outside the reach of the light the torches cast, he saw a silhouette appear. But something was off. Usually, the first thing he would see were the piercing eyes, like a hawk. Also, the position of the figure seemed different. It was more relaxed, and there was no sword in sight._

_But he didn’t care who had tied him up, he just wanted to be free. “Untie me right now,” he grouched._

_The other person exhaled, and a cloud of smoke drifted his way. He knew that smell. And when the figure spoke, there was no doubt about it._

_“I thought it would make things more… exiting,” the suave voice said._

_He looked around him. The setting was different as well. He wasn’t tied up against the wall, but he was lying on a bed, his hands bound to the headboard. The light around him didn’t came from torches, but from lit candles. On top of that, he was stark naked._

_The blond strolled over and straddled him, causing a delicious friction between their erections._

_His mind was a haze, but he managed to choke out: “But you’re not gay.”_

_“I know,” the chef answered mysteriously. He bent forward and flicked his tongue over his nipple._

_His smile grew the lower the blond went and when the man took him in his mouth, he didn’t care if his legs had been tied up…_

* * *

 

He felt something press against his hard-on, and without opening his eyes, he knew it was Sanji’s ass. How tempting it was just to grind his hips forward…

The blond lay curled up in his arms, still asleep. Carefully, Zoro pulled his arm away from underneath him and made his way to the bathroom.

There were three things he could do now. He could take a cold shower, but chances were that Sanji would wake up from that and he didn’t have an excuse to take another shower. He could also try to meditate to calm his mind and body. Only that technique didn’t seem to have an effect on him anymore ever since the cook walked into his life…

Which left him with option three. He lowered his pants and it wasn’t difficult to summon the image of a naked Sanji, laying on his carpet in front of the fireplace…

* * *

When he woke for the third time, it was already morning. The place next to him was empty, unfortunately, but still felt warm. From the bathroom, he heard the sound of running water, Sanji was taking a shower.

He was still lying in bed when the blond came back into the room, fully dressed already, aside from his jacket and tie.

Zoro hoped he had cleaned up the bathroom well enough after his ‘private time’ last night. “Morning,” he said.

Sanji mumbled something in response and started fixing his tie.

The swordsman got out of bed and began to dress himself. “Did ya sleep okay?” he tried again.

The blond looked at him. “Better than I expected with you snoring in my ear.”

Zoro raised an eyebrow, but kept silent. Of the friendly atmosphere from last night seemed to be nothing left. “You wanna go get breakfast before Luffy eats it all?” he said when they both were ready.

Sanji nodded, but before Zoro could reach for the doorknob, the blond stopped him and started to fashion him. The green haired man made a big show of pretending he hated it, but he hardly minded having Sanji’s hands all over him. When the cook was content with his work – or when the swordsman looked “passable”, as Sanji called it – they went downstairs.

In the dining room, there was a buffet of all kind of breakfast food, from cereal to scrambled eggs. Sanji picked up two plates, while Zoro looked for a place to sit.

While the blond dished up the plates, he saw Nami standing next to him. “Good morning, Nami-swan,” he greeted her.

“Morning, Sanji.” She looked around her if no one was listening before leaning in, making Sanji almost swoon. “Is it true what Perona says?”

“I’m not following you, my beautiful flower,” he said rather confused.

“Did you and Zoro have sex last night?” Her voice sounded a little too eager.

“What?! No, we did not!” He hastened himself to lower his voice. “You know we’re just pretending, right?”

“She said she heard you exclaim.”

“He pinched me!”

Nami shrugged. “What kinky stuff you like is your business.”

Sanji stood dumbfounded. He followed her hastily as she walked over to the tables. “You can just ask Zoro. Tell her,” he demanded when they had reached the swordsman.

“Tell her what?”

The blond sighed and bent forward to whisper something in his ear. The green haired man had a hard time focussing on the words instead of the warm breath, until he picked up the word sex. He almost choked on the bite he just took. But seeing the warning look the cook gave him, he said to Nami: “We didn’t do it.”

She shrugged, but got distracted when her boyfriend called over from the buffet. Luffy waved and with his plate loaded, he walked over to them, but half way to the table the food was already gone and he had to go back.

Sanji took a seat next to one of Zoro’s cousins, a beautiful young woman with pink hair. Underneath her right eye, she had a golden ring pierced and she wore red lipstick. Bonney was her name, if he recalled correctly. Surprisingly, she was family of Zoro, even though her table manners reminded him more of Luffy.

“So you’re a cook right?” she asked between two bites, her mouth still full.

But she was a lady, so Sanji didn’t mind. “I am. A chef actually. Unfortunately, the restaurant where I worked burned down a week ago,” he explained.

Her fork stopped halfway to her mouth. “But, what about the food?” she stammered.

“I’m sorry?”

“The food. You kept food at the restaurant, right?”

He nodded slowly. He hadn’t really thought about the food. Sure, it was a waste, but she seemed pretty upset. “I’m sorry, my sweet, but it’s all gone.”

“You poor thing!”

Before he could react, she grabbed the back of his head and pushed his face in her ample bosom, trying to comfort him. Unfortunately, her plan backfired as he almost fainted, but then he felt it. _Shit._ Not now.

He pulled his head back, his hand for his nose, but he already felt the warm liquid drip through his fingers.

“You okay?” she asked, more surprised than worried.

He nodded, still covering his nose. Fortunately, Zoro came to his aid. “Don’t worry, his nosebleed is… chronic,” the swordsman said. “Come on, Curly-brow.” He grabbed Sanji’s hand and dragged him along to the nearest men’s room.

“Che, you act all like a gentleman, but deep down you’re just a pervert, aren’t you?” he snickered after handing the blond a paper towel.

“Shut up. Like I said last night, you just don’t understand the beauty of a woman’s bosom,” the blond snapped back.

Zoro shook his head in disdain.

Fortunately, no blood had gotten on Sanji’s clothes. After the bleeding had stopped, they left the restroom. In the hallway, they met Nami.

“Ah Sanji, are you okay?” she asked.

“Yes, I’m fine, thank you, my beautiful flower~”

But she waved aside his flirtations. “I came to tell you that Luffy and I are leaving.”

“Already?” the blond asked disappointed. “But it won’t be the same without you, Melorine~”

“Why are you leaving?” Zoro interrupted his supposed boyfriend.

Nami sighed and shook her head. “The hotel staff had kindly but compellingly requested Luffy to leave, before he eats everything. Bonney has been asked the same, so we’re taking her with us.”

Zoro started laughing. Nami sighed again and waved as she walked away, ignoring Sanji’s exclamations of love. After a few paces, she stood still and turned around with a mischievous smile on her face. “You two make a really cute couple.”

“That’s so mean, Nami-swan!” the chef called after her pouting.

* * *

Not long after Zoro and Sanji decided to leave as well. After too much hugs and kisses for Zoro’s taste and a threat from Perona that she would bring the bear costume next time, they finally reached the car.

On the way home, the blond was quiet. He stared out of the window smoking and didn’t say a thing. Suddenly, the swordsman realised that Sanji had been acting different all day. He hadn’t tried his best to be a convincing boyfriend like he had yesterday. Also, the blond had been avoiding his gaze and they hadn’t made eye contact all day, even though Zoro had tried.

When they pulled over in front of the cook’s house, the green haired man turned himself to the cook. “What the hell is wrong with you today? Why can’t you look me in the face?”

Sanji took a deep breath from his cigarette and undid his safety belt, still staring straight ahead. He was already reaching for the door handle, when he finally looked at the swordsman. “Try locking the door next time.” With that, he left the car without looking back.

Zoro sat frozen, his hands still on the steering wheel. He didn’t need to think about what the cook had meant. _Shit_. Had he been so careful not to wake the other man that he had forgotten to lock the door of the bathroom that night? He hadn’t exclaimed Sanji’s name, had he? No, he had barely made a sound. But that cook could be stealthy! Even if he was pleasuring himself, he usually was quite aware of his surroundings. How long had the blond been watching?

Zoro smacked his head on the steering wheel and groaned. The thought of Sanji watching him masturbate aroused him. Something was definitely wrong with him.

%MCEPASTEBIN%

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (*) French for: "Of course I speak French."  
> (**) Japanese for: "Of course I speak Japanese." (Thanks to Thérèse and Vergina for the translation).


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to my betas, Thérèse and VerginaSPVA

The rest of the day Sanji tried to keep himself busy. It was Sunday, so he couldn’t do much work for the restaurant. Therefore, he settled for cleaning his home until it was spotless and he tried out different recipes. But every time he let his mind wander, he saw the image of Zoro masturbating in his mind’s eye.

_That morning he had woken to pee and in his half-asleep state, his brain hadn’t registered that the swordsman wasn’t next to him, nor that the light in the bathroom was on. But when he had opened the door, he was wide awake._

_There Zoro had been standing, his pants around his ankles, with his erect cock in his hand. His head was thrown back in pleasure and he was moaning softly, his eyes closed. He hadn’t seen Sanji, being too much in bliss from stroking himself. The cook got out of there as quickly as he could and pretended to be asleep when the green haired man had returned._

Of course, he understood that, as a man, sometimes things needed ‘to be taken care off’, but he didn’t need to see someone else do it. But what bothered him the most was that Zoro clearly got aroused by a dream or his own thoughts, when Sanji had been curled up against him. That thought sent shivers down his spine.

During the day, he managed to keep his thoughts from the incident, by busying himself and in the evening by watching TV. When he was lying in bed, however, distracting himself was a lot more difficult. It was rather late when he finally fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, he woke from the doorbell. Yawning, he put on a bathrobe and hurried himself downstairs. Opening the door, he saw a beautiful woman standing on the doorstep and he almost closed the door again, realising how he himself looked. But slamming the door in a lady’s face wasn’t very polite, so he waited until she spoke.

“Good morning, mister Prince,” she said. “I’m sorry to disturb you so early. My name is Robin Nico. I’m mister Portgas’ lawyer.”

He nodded, though he didn’t quite understand. Wouldn’t they release Ace? If he needed a lawyer, did that mean he was being charged?

“May I come in, please?” Robin asked.

“Of course!” He jumped aside to let her pass. “Please, make yourself at home. I will get dressed–”

“Please, I’m rather in a hurry,” she said. “I would like to ask you some things about your relationship with my client.”

“Relationship? I wouldn’t call it that, beautiful, I only met him once.” He offered her a seat.

She smiled politely. “Yes, but Mr Portgas can be described as rather… charismatic. Even after meeting him only once, he still must have left an impression.”

Sanji thought about that for a moment. What she said was undoubtedly true. After Ace left, the chef had already gone as far as call him his sort-of-friend and he hadn’t believed for a second Ace was the pyromaniac. “In that case, may I offer you some coffee?” he asked.

When she nodded, he hurried himself to the kitchen and when he returned, she had taken a seat on the couch. He placed two cups on the coffee table and sat down facing her. “Do you mind if I smoke?” he asked while she took a sip from the hot beverage.

As she shook her head, he lit a cigarette – having a package in the pocket of his robe — and admired his view. Robin was a tall, slim woman with raven black hair and piercing blue eyes. “So, he is being charged?” he asked after exhaling a cloud of smoke.

The woman nodded. “Yes. Only for burning down the Baratie though, so he is not yet labelled a pyromaniac.” From her purse, she got a block note and a pen. “So, how do you know Mr Portgas?”

“Didn’t he tell you?”

“He did, but I like to hear it from your point of view, Mr Prince.”

Sanji insisted she would call him by his first name, but then nodded and told her of their first encounter. She kept silent during the story, from time to time writing something down. When he was done, she looked through her notes and then asked: “Have you ever had a sexual relationship with Mr Portgas?”

He almost choked on his coffee. “What? No! Did he tell you that?!”

“No, but you are the first person who I have encountered in this case who didn’t, aside from his brother, of course.”

Sanji wiped his mouth clean and sighed. Zoro had told him Ace didn’t like to be in a relationship and his flirtatious behaviour betrayed he liked to sleep around. But still, the chef wasn’t the most important witness in the case, so surely Robin had talked to more people…

“Why is he being charged?” he asked.

“There is an eyewitness who places him at the Baratie at the time of the fire. So unfortunately, your statement claiming you have never seen him before the fire isn’t useful anymore.” She asked him a few more questions, which he was happy to answer. Finally, she flipped through her notes and said: “Well, I think I have all I need. Thank you for your time, Mr Prince.”

“Please, call me Sanji,” he insisted for the sixth time. “And you don’t need me to testify or something, my dear?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. You don’t think he did it, and as you don’t know him that long, it might look like you are trying to protect Mr Portgas, as his lover.”

Sanji groaned and forgetting he was in the presence of a lady, he exclaimed: “Can a guy not just be straight anymore?”

She smiled. “Of course you can. But Mr Portgas isn’t shy about his sexual preference.”

He shook his head, surrendering. “Well, if I can be of any use, please contact me again.”

“I will.” She shook his hand and allowed him to kiss hers. “Thank you for your time.”

“If you have time this week, would you like to join me for dinner sometime?” he asked walking her to the door.

“That would be lovely. I will check with my husband when he is available. Good day, Mr Prince.” With that, she left, leaving Sanji defeated behind.

* * *

Unfortunately, Robin was too busy with Ace’s case to accompany Sanji at dinner. In the end, this was rather convenient for the chef, as things with the restaurant finally got into a stride. He and Zeff had found a new location, so they needed to hire a contractor. They couldn’t collect the insurance money yet, which forced them to contract a loan with the bank. In all, the blond was rather busy.

In the few weeks that went by, Zoro didn’t contact him, nor did he meet him anywhere by chance. The chef didn’t mind. First, he needed a few days to forget about the incident, and after that he was too busy with the restaurant to think about the green haired man. By going to the wedding with Zoro he had repaid his debt, so there wasn’t a reason to meet him anymore, was there? Sure, the man was easy to talk to and it was fun arguing and fighting with him. But he could do that with the cooks of the Baratie as well.

So why didn’t it feel the same?

Sanji did follow Ace’s case in the newspaper. The black haired man had been charged and his trial was getting closer. Robin hadn’t contacted him and he didn’t speak to anyone who would know something, so he only knew the progress from the papers.

One Friday night, however, he got a phone call. Frowning, he saw it was Zoro, but he decided to pick up anyway. “Marimo.”

“Sanjiiiiiiiii!” a loud voice that obviously didn’t belong to the swordsman yelled in his ear.

The blond held his phone as far away from his head as he could, in order not to go deaf. “Luffy? Why the hell are you calling with Marimo’s phone?”

“I didn’t have your number,” the black haired boy said as if that explained everything.

“Luffy! Give back my phone!” Sanji heard Zoro yell in the background.

“No! I wanna invite him!”

A slight smile appeared on the blond’s face as he listened to what happened on the other side of the line. Zoro yelled to leave Sanji alone and give back his phone, but Luffy refused again.

“Come back down from there, you little monkey!” the swordsman shouted.

“Where are you now?” Sanji asked curious.

“On the roof. Sanji, you didn’t cook for me anymore.” It almost sounded accusing.

The blond sighed. “Look, I’m sorry. But I’ve been busy.”

“I thought you would come over more often,” the boy pouted.

“Like I said, it’s been hectic,” the chef tried.

“You should make me meat, anyway.”

“Fine, I will come over soon.” For some reason, he couldn’t say no to the black haired boy. “How are you doing?”

“Good, we are going out tonight and you’re coming too!”

It wasn’t even an order, just a simple statement. Sanji rubbed his temples. “Who are ‘we’, exactly?”

“You, me, Nami and Zoro. But you can bring someone too!”

The chef thought for a moment. He had been working really hard lately, so going out didn’t sound that bad. Even if Zoro accompanied them. “Sure, why the hell not. Actually, I have a friend who I think you’ll like a lot.”

* * *

Sanji stood outside the bar smoking, waiting for his friend who had agreed to meet him there. Usopp had been his roommate for a while before he went to France. He was a nice fellow who liked to tell tall stories. They had agreed on staying in touch, but even though they had spoken on the phone, he hadn’t seen his old roommate in a long time.

“Sanji!” he heard a familiar voice.

When he turned around, he saw Usopp approaching. His friend had changed a lot since they last met. His dark hair had grown longer, which he had tied into a ponytail. He wore overalls, showing off his muscular upper body. New as well was the goatee that decorated his chin. Only his nose was as long as he remembered.

“Hey Usopp, I see you’re finally able to grow facial hair,” he teased, slapping the other man friendly on his shoulder.

“It’s good to see you too, Sanji. You’ve changed your hair. Didn’t you used to cover your other eye?”

A bit embarrassed, the blond went with his hand trough his hair. He had switched his hairstyle on the day of Vivi’s wedding, because he had a minor infection to his right eye. After that, he had kept it that way, including his goatee and moustache. But not because Zoro had said he liked it!

“Yeah, you know, just keeping things fresh,” he murmured. He quickly changed the subject. “But it’s good to see you again indeed. It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, I was rather surprised when you called. But I’ve been busy and so have you probably.”

Sanji nodded and explained what had happened in the last few weeks. “So what about you?” he asked after Usopp had showed his sympathies. “Graduated yet?”

“I’m in my final year now, and I’ve just started to do a work placement.”

Chatting, they entered the bar and Sanji introduced Usopp to his friends.

Luffy’s eyes started to sparkle. “Are you a cook as well? Can you make me meat?”

“I’m not a chef,” Usopp explained. A smile appeared on his face. “But I did teach Sanji all he knows–”

“Really?” Luffy was bouncing up and down from excitement, but Sanji gave Usopp a kick in the head.

“Like hell you did!”

“So, Sanji says you two have been roommates?” Nami asked.

Usopp nodded. “When we were both in college, we’ve lived together for like a year. I study architecture.”

Luffy looked a little disappointed – after all, he couldn’t eat buildings – but when the architect started to tell a story about how he had rescued the prince of Scotland from a bear attack, he became all excited again. Usopp fitted right in the group, as Sanji had expected.

The blond, on the other hand, hardly listened to his friend’s story, as he had heard this one many times before. His eyes wandered through the bar until his gaze rested on a group of three girls, who where sitting by themselves. “Excuse me,” he said to his friends, before he practically danced away.

Usopp looked over his shoulder and took a sip from his beer. “Ah, how I’ve missed him making a fool of himself,” he snickered.

“Did he always do that? Ditching you to flirt with girls?” Nami asked.

“No, no. Well, sometimes. But often it was because of him I got dates.” The architect smiled, seemingly lost in nostalgic thoughts.

Nami glanced over to Zoro. “Hey Usopp,” she asked circumspect, “you know Sanji longer than we do. Did you ever get the feeling he might be… gay?”

Usopp sat still for a moment, and then almost spluttered his beer over the table. “Sanji? Gay?” he laughed. “No way. You haven’t noticed how he is flirting with you?”

“The first time I met him I thought he was overcompensating. It just seems like he is trying too much.”

The architect considered her words for a moment, but then shook his head. “No, he’s not gay. He really has a soft spot for women, being love struck and all. When we were living together, he had a date almost every night.”

“But never with a guy?” Nami insisted.

Zoro took a sip from his beer and shot her a warning look. He knew she asked for his sake, but he had rather she just shut up. “Stop it, witch.”

The orange haired girl shrugged. “I just think he was a little too convincing at Vivi’s wedding.”

“Eh? But you’re dating, aren’t you?” Luffy twirled around on his bar stool. That earned him a smack in the head from Nami.

“Pay attention! They were pretending. Have you seen them together since?”

Usopp looked confused to the friends. “Sanji dated a guy?”

“Not really. He owed me a favour, so I asked him to pretend to be my boyfriend,” Zoro explained sighing.

The architect took another sip and mused: “Well, he is a man of his word…”

* * *

In the meantime, Sanji had taken a seat with the three girls and had ordered them drinks. He was just telling a story about France, which they seemed to enjoy, when he caught one of them, the tallest brunette, staring at his friends.

“Would you like one of my friends to join us?” he asked. When she nodded, he continued: “Who? The boy with the straw hat? The one with the long nose–?”

“It’s not that long,” she protested, which gave her answer clearly away.

He called his former roommate over en introduced him to the girls. Usopp sat down next to the tall brunette and started some story about how he defeated a giant goldfish. Sanji rolled his eyes, but the girl seemed to enjoy herself.

“What about your other friend?” the shortest girl asked eager, a girl with red brown hair. “The muscular one?”

“I’m sorry, my dear, I don’t think he’s interested–”

She pouted, making it feel like his heart broke in two. “Oi, Marimo. Get your butt over here!” he yelled to the other table.

Contrary of what he had expected, Zoro actually got up and walked to their table. “What do you want, Curly-brow?” he growled in a dangerously low voice. He didn’t like what he saw. The chef had his arm around one of the brunettes, who was radiant. The shortest of the girls looked at him and blinked a bit too often with her eyes.

“Pretend like you have manners, Neanderthal, and say hi to these ladies,” Sanji snapped.

Zoro gave him a dangerous glare, then said to the girls: “Hi,” before he walked away again.

“Stupid barbaric Marimo,” the blond muttered, “can’t even behave properly in front of ladies–”

“Ehm, Sanji?” Usopp gestured his head towards the small girl, who was pouting again.

The blond hastened himself to comfort her. “Don’t take it personal, my little princess. He just… doesn’t like girls.”

She sighed disappointed. “It’s always the hot ones who are gay, aren’t they?”

The shorter one of the brunettes gave her a kick under the table. “How can you say that? Sanji’s here too…” She flushed when she realised he had heard her. He smiled at her and whispered in her ear how cute she looked. Her cheeks turned an even darker shade.

The blond was about to continue the story he had started before Usopp joined them, when they heard a loud clash.

A few feet away from them, they saw Zoro standing. He was holding a billiard cue in each hand and one in his mouth. Around his head of green hair, he had tied a bandana. Across the room, there was a man shaped hole in the wall, out of which a guy crawled. He looked very pissed. A group of dangerous looking men joined him.

Luffy stood next to the swordsman, the straw hat he wore pushed over his eyes and looking ready for action. Nami was still sitting at their table, massaging her temples and pretending she didn’t belong with the guys.

Sanji considered the situation for a moment. Here he was sitting with three beautiful ladies, two of them interested in him, since Zoro wasn’t an option. But Zoro and Luffy’s opponents were in the majority. Though he had no doubt the swordsman could handle them, it still had been a while since he had beaten the shit out of somebody. His feet itched for a good fight. Finally, he cut the knot. “Excuse me, ladies.” In one jump, he was on the other side of the table.

The fight had already started when he joined in. Luffy’s strength surprised him. The way he dealt and absorbed punches, it was almost like he was made of rubber. When he saw Sanji, he grinned at him. “Ah Sanji, you’re joining in?”

“I can’t let you guys be beaten by such lowlifes, can I?” he snickered.

The black haired boy chuckled and ducked as Sanji’s leg came his way to kick some guy behind him.

Around them had gathered a group of people cheering them on. The blond hardly noticed it. With all the work he had been doing lately, he never had time to train his savate. A bar fight was a good way to deal with his frustrations.

But his joy didn’t last long. After a few minutes, a dangerous looking bouncer came their way, and it wasn’t long after that they were kicked out of the bar.

Sanji scrambled to his feet. “Way to go, Marimo. Thanks to you we’re probably never allowed in again.”

“Why the hell is it my fault, Curly-brow? No one asked for you to meddle in!”

“Meddle? Without me, you would be begging for mercy!”

“Like hell I would! You should have just stayed with those girls, Love-cook, where you belong!”

They glared dangerously at each other, their noses almost touching.

Usopp, who had followed them out with Nami, looked surprised at his blond friend. “Is he always like this with Zoro?” he asked the girl.

She pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m afraid so. But this isn’t his nature?”

“Usually he is a lot more easygoing. Sure, he has a temper, but only with people he refers to as ‘morons’,” Usopp explained. “But I’ve never seen him like this.”

Sanji and Zoro continued calling each other every name in the book, until Luffy was doubled over with laughter. “You guys are so funny!”

Nami had had enough. She gave the chef and the swordsman both a smack on the head, and while she was at it, Luffy too. “Would you guys shut up already?” she snapped. “We’ve already been thrown out of a bar and it’s not even ten o’ clock!”

“So this is normal?” Usopp inquired.

“If you go out with these guys, it is,” she sighed.

“If you’ll allow me, Melorine, I know a nice little jazz club about fifteen minutes walking from here,” Sanji said.

“Walking?” she asked a bit weary.

“I’ll carry you, my beautiful Nami-swan~!”

“You’re such an idiot,” Zoro grunted.

“What did you say?!” It was only a matter of seconds before they were fighting again.

Nami groaned and looked as if she was about to cry. Usopp just shook his head and Luffy cheered the men on.

About half an hour and a few smacks from Nami later, they finally arrived at the club Sanji had mentioned. It was a small place and a bit shabby, but they did have live music. There were only a few guests.

When they entered, Sanji immediately walked over to the pianist and greeted him.

“Good evening, Sanji-san. I see you’ve brought some friends?” the musician said.

“Yes. Brook, meet Nami-swan, Luffy, Usopp and Marimo,” the blond introduced them.

“My name is not Marimo, Curly-brow!”

They glared at each other. Brook rose from his piano stool. He towered high above them and had the biggest afro any of them had ever seen. He bowed to Nami. “Excuse me, but may I please see your panties?”

Before the girl could react, Sanji had kicked the skinny man. “That’s no way to talk to a lady!”

Luffy pulled at the blond’s sleeve. “Sanji, I’m hungry. Cook me something.”

Nami gave him a punch in the head. “Stop whining. Sanji is free tonight too.”

“It’s okay, Melorine, I’ll fix him something.” With that the blond walked away.

“But we haven’t ordered yet,” she stammered.

“It’s okay, Nami-san. Sanji works here temporarily. He didn’t tell you?” Brook inquired.

She shrugged. “He just said he knew the place.”

A while later, the chef came back, carrying two trays with five plates on them. “I took the liberty into making you all something I think you will like,” he said, while placing the plates in front of them.

On Luffy’s plate lay different kinds of sausages and other meaty snacks. With a happy exclamation of “Yay, meat!”, he attacked the food.

Nami got a piece of orange cheesecake, Usopp homemade potato crisps and Brook some pancakes.

“Did you make them with extra calcium? I need to have strong bones, as I’m hardly more than skin and bones! Yohohoho!”

Sanji rolled his eyes, having heard these so-called ‘Skull-jokes’ a little too often lately and turned his attention to Zoro. The swordsman was staring at his plate like the cook was trying to poison him. “What? You don’t like it? It’s–”

“Onigiri, I know.” The green haired man’s gaze was fixed on the triangular shaped balls of rice.

“I thought you would like it, having been to Japan and all. I even gave you some wasabi on the side to match your hair,” the blond added chuckling.

Zoro scowled at him for that last remark, but then he said: “It’s been a while since I had onigiri… Thanks, Cook.” He took a bite and made a noise that indicated he liked it. The others started to eat as well, except for Luffy, who was already cleaning his plate with his tongue.

Sanji lit a cigarette and watched contently how his friends enjoyed the food. Especially for Zoro’s opinion he had been nervous, he was the only one blunt enough to say that he didn’t like it.

Wait, since when did he care what that marimo thought? He didn’t. If he didn’t like it– No, of course he liked it, this was Sanji’s fucking food. Everybody loved it.

The evening turned out to be quite pleasant. Brook played tunes on the piano, with which Luffy and Usopp loudly – and very off key – sang and danced along with. They already had become the best of friends. Nami had found a group of men playing poker, whom she had innocently asked to teach her – and then swindled them as she was quite the poker player. They forgave her though when she showed them some cleavage.

Zoro was drinking beer in the corner when Sanji joined him. The blond had been busy all night serving drinks and snacks, even though it was his night off. It surprised the swordsman the blond was holding a beer bottle as well. So he finally dared to drink around him again.

“You okay, Marimo? You’ve been quiet all night,” the chef asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Maybe because of Ace?” Sanji inquired. “His trial is in a few days.”

“Luffy’s alright and he’s his brother.”

“Luffy is easily distracted. But am I wrong?”

Zoro stared at his booze. “He’ll be fine. He didn’t do it.”

The blond just nodded and took another sip.

* * *

It was late when they left the bar. Nami would bring Usopp and Brook home, but as she didn’t like her car to smell like smoke, Sanji had said he would walk. They wouldn’t all fit into the car, anyway. Zoro offered to accompany him, which he suspiciously accepted.

After taking leave from their friends, they strolled in an amicable silence as the blond smoked.

When they approached his house, he said: “You didn’t have to walk me all the way home, you know.”

Seeing Zoro’s confused look, he snickered. “You had no idea where we were going, did you?”

The green haired man looked purposely the other way and the blond could swear he blushed. “Not my fault everything here looks alike,” he mumbled.

Sanji chuckled again. “Well, this is my house.”

Zoro looked like he considered to say something, but decided to stay silent. They just stood facing each other for a moment, both with their hands in their pockets.

Finally, the swordsman sighed and turned around. “’Night, Cook.”

“Marimo…?”

He stopped and turned curiously.

“…Do you wanna come in?”

Now it was his turn to become cautious. Did the blond just invite him into his house? But like hell he was going to pass up an opportunity to see how the cook lived… And what kind of bed he had. A smirk crept on his face. “Sure.”

He followed Sanji into the house. “Make yourself at home… Within reason,” the blond said after hanging his coat.

Zoro looked around. The room was very tidy and was decorated with tasteful interior. The swordsman plumped down on the couch. “Have had a lot of girls here, Cook?” he blurted out.

“Plenty.” A small smile appeared on his face.

“Do I still want to sit on this couch?” the green haired man teased.

The blond flushed. “D-don’t be disgusting! I wouldn’t do _that_ on my couch.”

That made the swordsman cock his eyebrow. “You mean you’ve never done it on a couch?”

“Why would I want to do that? I have a perfectly fine bed…”

“Sometimes you just don’t get that far.” He looked at Sanji. “Never had that?”

“N-no…”

An awkward silence fell between them. The chef broke it by changing the subject and asked the swordsman if he wanted to drink something. When he nodded, the blond disappeared into the kitchen. While he was gone, Zoro studied the pictures that hung on the wall. His eyes lingered on one of Sanji when he was eleven or twelve. He was wearing a white cook’s shirt, a dark blue knee breeches and a white apron. His left hand rested on his hip and in his other one, he was holding a cooking knife as long as his forearm.

When the cook came back, he found Zoro snickering. “You know, even with that knife and deadly glare at the camera, you were really cute.”

“Shut up. I’ve never been cute.”

“I disagree.” But only then the swordsman turned around and saw what Sanji was holding. He immediately shut up.

“That’s better. I’d thought you would like it.” He swung the bottle of sake teasingly in front of the swordsman’s face. “Now behave.”

Zoro pouted a little, but the sake was too tempting. He sat down on the couch again and Sanji handed him a cup. He waited until the blond had taken a seat as well, before he said smirking: “ _Kanpai._ ”

Sanji raised his glass as well, but though the swordsman emptied his cup in one swing, he only took a small sip. He trusted himself to drink around the swordsman again, but with moderation.

“So, you’re really not worried about Ace?” he asked as he refilled Zoro’s cup.

The swordsman seemed to pick his words carefully. “I know he isn’t the pyromaniac. But I don’t have much faith in the justice system.”

“They say they have an eyewitness,” Sanji said cautious.

“The fucker is lying.”

“Do you know where Ace was that night?”

“I’m not his fucking babysitter! He didn’t tell me either, but I’ll be damned if he isn’t protecting someone. That little shit better step up soon.”

The blond waited until Zoro had finished his rant and then said: “I’ll drink to that.”

They kept chatting for a long time. At a certain point, Sanji was lying with his head on Zoro’s stomach, his long legs draped over the arm of the couch. Neither of them knew how they had ended up that way, though. The cook’s eyes were half closed already.

“Ya getting tired?” the swordsman asked softly, stroking through the golden locks. He couldn’t help but smile a little. When Luffy had called Sanji, the swordsman had hardly expected to end up on the blond’s couch. Sure, not the way he had hoped, but still. After Sanji told him he had seen him masturbating, he hadn’t dared to contact the chef again. And as time passed by, he lost hope Sanji would contact _him_. But tonight everything seemed to be okay between them again.

“I’m not tired. And you’re drunk.” With his forefinger, he poked in Zoro’s cheek.

“Why do you think that? I can hold my liquor.”

“You’re stroking my hair.”

“I don’t have to be drunk to do that.”

When Sanji snapped his head up, he knew he had said too much. “Heh, maybe I am drunk. You’d know, you’re the expert,” he quickly said.

That earned him a kick like only Sanji could do. The blond got up and rubbed his eyes.

“You don’t have to get up.” The swordsman tried to hide his disappointment.

“Hm, I probably should, or otherwise I fall asleep on your lap.”

Zoro was about to say he didn’t mind, but decided that wasn’t such a good idea. “I should get going then.”

“Sit, Marimo.”

Surprised, he sunk down into the cushions again and waited for Sanji to return with a blanket. “You can crash here. I’m not letting you walk home now.”

“Worried I might get mugged?” the green haired man teased.

Sanji snorted. “No, but I don’t feel like looking for a lost little Marimo in the middle of the night.” He got ready to leave, when the swordsman said: “’Night, Cook.”

A small smile appeared on his lips. “’Night, Marimo.”

 

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

Zoro yawned and stretched himself, waking up with the sun shining through a crack in the curtain. Smiling, he opened his eyes. Things had turned out great last night. Sure, he didn’t wake up where he had hoped – in Sanji’s bed – but at least he was in the blond’s house. He hadn’t seen him in weeks and still they picked up where they had left off. They had fought, but the night had ended in an amicable, almost romantic way, when Sanji’s head had rested on Zoro’s stomach.

The green haired man yawned again and got up to pee. After searching the floor for the bathroom without success, he decided to try his luck upstairs. He didn’t have to look far; when he reached the top of the stairs, he almost got a door slammed in his face and Sanji walked out of the bathroom wearing a bathrobe. His hair was still damp from the shower. “Oh, good morning,” the cook said a little surprised. Apparently, he hadn’t expect Zoro to wait in front of the door.

“Morning.” Fortunately, this time Sanji didn’t sound distantly as he had the morning after Vivi’s wedding. Then again, Zoro hadn’t done anything this time to make the blond feel uncomfortable, unless he had done something in his sleep, which he assumed he hadn’t.

Sanji left for his bedroom as Zoro relieved himself in the bathroom. When the swordsman got out, he noticed that the door of the blond’s bedroom wasn’t entirely closed. He couldn’t resist the urge to peek. The chef had discarded his robe and stood fully naked in the room, his back turned to Zoro. Sanji bent forward to get clean underwear, giving the other man a nice view of his bare ass. He went on getting dressed, unaware of the eyes roaming his body.

Zoro sighed, trying not to think of what he could do with the limber blond, when said man turned suddenly around and came towards the door. Hastily, Zoro made his way to the stairs and started descending them. Sanji opened the door, his shirt still hanging open. “Oi, I forgot. Do you want to take a shower?” Nothing indicated that he had noticed Zoro peeking.

When the swordsman nodded, the chef said: “Hold on,” and disappeared into his bedroom again, to come back holding a towel. “There you go. The bathroom is the door behind you.”

“I know, I just got out of it,” Zoro said confused.

“I didn’t want you to get lost on the way,” Sanji teased and walked away while buttoning up his shirt.

* * *

When the green haired man came back down, the blond had already cleared up his improvised bed and was setting the table for breakfast. Breathing in the delicious smells that filled the room, Zoro heard his stomach rumble.

“You’re in luck, breakfast is just about ready.” Sanji had obviously noticed the sound too. He placed a dish full of scrambled eggs and bacon on the table and Zoro had a hard time not to drool. This morning was just getting better and better.

Sanji watched him load his plate and eat with relish. The blond was smoking his first cigarette of the day and sipping his coffee. “I think you spend too much time with Luffy,” he said amused, leaning with his head on his hand.

The swordsman looked up. “’s good, Cook,” he said with his mouth full.

“I know.” But still the chef smiled slightly.

When he was done eating, Zoro leaned back in his seat. “Oi, Cook,” he said musing. When Sanji looked at him curiously, he continued: “You gonna go to the trial?”

The blond nodded.

“You gonna testify?”

This time he shook his head.

Zoro frowned. “Why not? You don’t even know him and you don’t think he did it.”

Sanji seemed a bit uncomfortable. “I don’t wanna say.”

“Why not?”

“’Cause it’s embarrassing, okay?!”

The swordsman raised his eyebrows. “How can it possibly be more embarrassing than when you saw me jack off?”

The blond’s cheeks flushed, seeing the image of the swordsman pleasuring himself vividly before his mind’s eye. “So that’s how it’s gonna be? Every time you make an ass of yourself, _I_ have to tell something embarrassing?”

“If you want the same treatment.”

“I haven’t done anything embar–” Abruptly, he stopped, remembering the night he had met Zoro. “Fine, if you want to know so badly…” he muttered. “Ace’s lawyer didn’t think it was a good idea, because it might look like I am… a previous lover of Ace or something.” He didn’t dare to look at the swordsman.

Said man let the words slowly sink in, playing with a coaster. “But… You’re straight.”

“You don’t have to tell me that!” At this point Sanji’s face had the colour of a tomato. “But apparently, that’s not allowed anymore!”

“I’m sure Robin has something up her sleeve, why she doesn’t want you on the stand,” Zoro said soothing. “I don’t trust that woman.”

“Don’t you say that! Robin is beautiful and mysterious. She doesn’t have some evil agenda!”

The swordsman rolled his eyes. “You know she’s married, right? And it seems her husband is a strapping fellow.”

“I’m not trying to woo her, moron. But that doesn’t mean I’ll allow you to speak ill of her.”

Zoro sighed and decided to let it go. It was no use anyway. Every time they talked about a woman, Sanji’s eyes practically got the shape of hearts and he would do anything to defend them. Even when all they did, was use him for their own benefit.

Yes, there wasn’t a doubt in the world that the cook liked women. But how could he ever be truly happy in a relationship that was so unequal? Even when the girl had the best intentions, the blond would grovel, lower himself to please her every whim. Maybe Sanji had convinced himself that was what he wanted, but he wouldn’t fool Zoro.

If only the cook gave him a chance… If Sanji was dating him, they would be equals. They were equally strong, equally competitive… They fit together perfectly. If only the chef realised that.

A smirk appeared on his face. There was only one thing to it. He would have to turn the cook.

* * *

The courtroom was already pretty full when Sanji arrived. It seemed many people were interested in this case. There were probably victims of other arson cases here as well, even though Ace was only charged with the burning down of the Baratie. At least for now. The defendant was already brought into the courtroom.

It didn’t take long for him to spot a green head of hair. Luffy and Nami were sitting next to Zoro when the blond approached them. Disappointed Nami was sitting next to the aisle and he couldn’t sit next to her, he took a seat on the other side of the swordsman. Luffy looked at him with a large grin on his face, which made him cautious.

Nami leaned over the boy to Sanji, who had to take slow, deep breaths not to get a bloody nose when he got sight of her cleavage. “I promised him that you would cook for him if he behaved,” she explained.

“Anything for you, my beautiful Nami-swan~!”

Zoro rolled his eyes at this. He placed his elbow in the crook of Sanji’s neck, who was leaning over him in order to talk to the orange haired woman, forcing the blond’s head down, practically in his lap. That earned him a sharp kick in the shin, but it didn’t prevent the dirty thoughts coming to his mind. After all, how close had the cook’s mouth been to his–

He reminded himself he was in a courtroom and at that moment, the judges, the honourable Sengoku, Tsuru and Dalmatian, were announced. They checked the factual information about the defendant and explained his rights, like he wasn’t obligated to answer questions. Sanji followed the procedure with interest. This was the first time he was in a courtroom like this and he had to pay close attention to keep track of everything.

The public prosecutor announced who was being charged with what. A sentence of three years of prison was demanded, for damaging property. Sanji felt Zoro tense next to him. He squeezed the man’s leg soothingly and leaned forward, whispering: “Don’t you think that public prosecutor is quite scary looking?”

The swordsman nodded slowly. The prosecutor looked very stern. His curly black hair was tied back in a ponytail. He had a well maintained goatee and stared down on the people in the courtroom with a frown. There was no guessing in what he was thinking.

First, the judges asked Ace some questions. The man declared himself innocent, but the question where he was at the time of the fire he didn’t answer. “Idiot,” Zoro muttered.

The first person that was called as a witness turned out to be Marco. He would serve as expert. The arson inspector was wearing a suit this time, looking rather different then when Sanji had met him. Then he had worn casual clothes. The chef noticed that Ace, who was sitting up front, whispered something to his lawyer. He couldn’t see if Robin answered him.

Marco explained at the request of the prosecutor how he thought the fire had started and at what time. Based on his findings the arson inspector determined the fire had started around three in the morning. Petrol had been poured around the Baratie, which had been lit. Sanji let his mind wander during the explanation, having heard it already. He started to pay attention though when it was Robin’s turn to ask questions. Those weren’t about his job as arson inspector.

“Do you know the defendant, Mr Fenwick?”

Marco sat up straight, but the public prosecutor objected to this, saying Marco served as an expert, not a witness. Judge Sengoku consulted the other judges, but then said: “Answer the question, Mr Fenwick.”

The arson inspector seemed to choose his words carefully, as he took his time before he aswered: “Define know. Yes, we work in the same building, but I haven’t spoken to him before.”

“Why’s that?” the lawyer asked.

Marco shrugged, and Sanji imagines him having his usual boring expression on his face – he couldn’t see it since the arson inspector was sitting with his back towards him. “You can’t talk to everyone, can you?”

The prosecutor objected again. “What’s the point of this interrogation?”

“Come to the point, Ms Nico,” the judges agreed.

“Very well. Mr Fenwick, despite never talking to my client, Mr Portgas is rather popular at the fire station. Have you ever heard stories about him?”

“Of course. He is considered on of the bravest firefighters, having never backed down. He has saved numerous children from a certain death in the flames. I’ve seen him train as well. He works really hard, always. But well, I suppose his hot body is already evidence of that–”

His answer threw the public into a turmoil. Sanji snickered and mumbled: “I knew it!” The judges, however, weren’t happy with Marco’s reply. Annoyed, Sengoku beat with his gavel to get the people quiet and snarled to the arson inspector: “Mr Fenwick! I will not have these outrageous flirtations in my courtroom!”

The arson inspector had already gotten over the shock of what he had blurted out and had gone back to his relaxed position. “I apologise, Your Honours.”

Robin smiled like she had foreseen all this and said: “No further questions.”

It was too bad Sanji couldn’t see Ace’s face. He wondered how the black haired man would react to Marco’s public flirtations.

“What did you know?” Zoro asked him softly.

Sanji looked at the arson inspector, who was leaving the witness stand. Then he leaned to the green haired man and whispered, afraid to be reprimanded by the judge: “I’ll tell you later.”

The swordsman’s breath quickened. He wondered if the cook breathed in his ear on purpose.

The next witness was the arresting officer. Sanji had met him, it was the same man who had accompanied him with the identity parade a few weeks ago.

“Inspector Momonga, could you please describe how you came to arrest the defendant?” the public prosecutor asked.

Momonga brushed his moustache. “We received an anonymous phone call tipping us to pay Mr Portgas a visit. In the garage, we found several jerry cans of petrol. Mr Monkey, the defendant’s brother who lives in the same house, had an alibi, contrary to Mr Portgas. The defendant has as well a history of starting small fires when he was younger.”  

Robin rose after the public prosecutor was finished with his questions. “Inspector Momonga, the small fires my client has supposedly started, is he ever been charged for that?”

“No, they have been discarded as actions of a rascal. But they have been recorded in his file.”

Robin nodded. “And have you ever found out who gave you the anonymous tip?”

“We did not. But a few days later, an eyewitness reported to the police. Mr Portgas refuses to answer where he was at the time, only drawing suspicion on himself.”

“But other than that, was my client co-operative?”

“He was. The only question he didn’t want to answer was his own whereabouts,” the inspector answered.

Zeff was the third witness to testify. He answered gruffly some questions about the Baratie, how long he had owned the restaurant and what the place had meant to him. He also explained he had not been in town the night of the fire and that his head chef had taken care of things. Sanji snorted at that. He hadn’t expected the old fart to call him his son, or even adoptive son, but still.

But even though the restaurant owner was the victim, he couldn’t say he had ever seen Ace’s face before, not even as a costumer or hanging outside the building. The public prosecutor left it at that and Robin didn’t have any questions. As Zeff made his way out of the courtroom, he and Sanji exchanged a short look.

Next to answer questions was another expert, a psychologist this time. Kalifa Bubble was a blond woman, with oval glasses, which she pushed up every now and then. Sanji was of course overwhelmed by her beauty, only Zoro was sure he saw a sly smile on the prosecutor’s face. But when he told the chef that, the blond said it was nonsense and a lady like Kalifa would never have ulterior motives. He did agree however that the prosecutor might not be completely trustworthy.

“Ms Bubble, have you had sessions with the defendant?” judge Dalmatian asked.

Kalifa pushed up her glasses. “That’s sexual harassment.”

Sengoku sighed. “It is not, Ms Bubble. Have you spoken to Mr Portgas and come to your conclusions as a psychologist?”

“I have.”

The prosecutor took over. “I’ll cut right to the chase. Do you think the defendant Mr Portgas is capable of arson?”

“Mr Portgas had revealed to me his motives to join the fire brigade. He decided to become a fireman after he lost a friend of his by fire when he was a child. Many pyromaniacs have gotten a fascination with fire after a traumatic experience caused by fire.” She stroked a lock of hair behind her ear.

“So, do you think he is the pyromaniac?” the prosecutor asked.

She pushed up her glasses. “I think it’s highly probable.”

“Liar!”

It took both Zoro and Nami to restrain the furious Luffy. Sengoku hammered impatiently on his desk. “Sir, behave yourself or I’ll have you removed!”

Nami whispered something in the boy’s ear – probably about food – and he seemed to calm down. Reluctantly, he sat down again.

The judge gestured the prosecutor to continue, but he said to Robin: “Your witness.”

Robin rose and walked over to the psychologist, her face unreadable. “Ms Bubble, this information my client had revealed to you, it was during a session, was it not?”

“Yes.”

“And isn’t it true that as a psychologist you are bound by professional secrecy?”

“Yes.”

“Then haven’t you violated this by repeating something that was brought to your knowledge in confidence?”

Kalifa was taken aback. “Well, if it’s to protect the majority–” she stammered.

“So you are to decide what is for the good of the majority?” Robin accused.

The prosecutor objected to that and the lawyer withdrew the question, but she had made her point. Kalifa’s authority as a psychologist had been shaken and the judges seemed to think so too. With a triumphant smile, Robin sat down.

Zoro smirked. “Ace has one hell of a lawyer.” His grin disappeared however when the next witness came to the stand. The colour drained from his face. Even Ace, who’s appearance had been quite relaxed during the trial, became tense.

“Do you know him?” Sanji asked the swordsman. He had noticed how pale the man had gotten all of the sudden and he was starting to get worried. When Zoro didn’t answer him, he placed his hand on the green haired man’s knee and didn’t pull back when his friend grasped it. Luffy had a very serious look on his face. Something was definitely wrong.

“Mr Akainu,” the public prosecutor started with a sly smile on his face. “You claim to have seen the pyromaniac burn down the Baratie. Do you recognise the defendant as the arsonist?”

Zoro squeezed Sanji’s hand and the latter feared it would break if the eyewitness didn’t respond soon. However, he would have preferred the man hadn’t when he stated Ace was the person he had seen.

The prosecutor continued. “Mr Akainu, could you please name the time the fire started?”

“It was about three o’clock at night.”

“That is the same time the arson inspector named,” the prosecutor said triumphant.

Next, it was Robin’s turn to ask questions. “Mr Akainu, you claim to have seen my client at the time of the fire at the burned down restaurant, correct?”

“Objection! This question was already answered,” the public prosecutor said.

Judge Tsuru nodded. “Proceed, Ms Nico.”

“Of course. Mr Fenwick explained to us that the fire started in the ally behind the restaurant. What were you doing there, Mr Akainu?”

“It’s a shortcut to my house.”

“I see. Are you aware that the ally doesn’t have lampposts? How were you able to see the arsonist well enough to point him out in this courtroom?”

“I had a pocket torch.” The eyewitness didn’t hesitate.

“But you weren’t spotted by the arsonist?” Robin inquired.

“Apparently not.”

Before Robin could ask the next question however, the messenger came in and whispered something to her. She nodded and asked permission to approach the bench, quickly followed by the public persecutor. After some consultation, Sengoku announced that they would adjourn the court for an hour to confer.

Wondering what it could be all about, Sanji followed the audience out of the courtroom. He took the unexpected break to have a smoke. Outside, he was addressed by an odd-looking fellow. He had seen the man in the courtroom as well. Well, it was hard to miss him with his large, light blue quiff, his Hawaiian shirt and shorts.

“You’re Sanji, right?” the man asked him, holding out an enormous hand, which the blond took hesitantly.

“I am,” he said carefully, not sure what the man could want from him.

“That’s SUPERR! I’m Franky. My wife told me you kindly invited us over for dinner. I’m SUPERRR sorry we couldn’t make it until now. It’s mostly my fault, being too busy with my contractor job… But that’s all done now.”

Sanji just nodded. So this was Robin’s husband? Well, Zoro had been right to call him a strapping fellow; the man was huge, and very muscled. Still, it was hard to understand what a beautiful woman like Robin would want with a man like Franky…

But suddenly he had an idea. “Wait, did you say you were a contractor?”

“Heh, not just any contractor. I’m SUPERRR!”

“You better be. I’m sure Robin has told you that my restaurant burned down? Well, we have found a new place for it, but the contractor we’d hired was an idiot. Zeff, the owner, kicked him out. Literally. So we need a new one. If you’re any good…”

“Like I said, I’m SUPERRR. I’ll stop by tomorrow at nine to look at the place, if that’s okay, Sanji-bro.”

“That would be great. See you tomorrow then.” After shaking hands with the odd contractor, who even struck a pose, he went inside again.

There he found Nami, Luffy and Zoro looking rather depressed. “You guys okay?” he asked with his eyebrows raised.

“That damn Akainu! He’s lying in his teeth.” Angry the swordsman hit the wall with his fist.

“Who is that guy then? Does he know Ace?”

“Ace has frustrated his plans when he was younger,” Nami explained. “But Akainu is a sly dog, so nothing could be proven. Now he’s trying to get rid of Ace as revenge. And Akainu is a very respected man in the business world, so they will probably believe him.”

“If that idiot only said where he were that night,” Zoro fumed. “You sure you have no idea, Luffy?”

The boy shrugged. “All I know is that he wasn’t home that night, and he wasn’t working. But he is away a lot.”

“What do you guys think happened just now?” Sanji asked. “Why would the judges, the prosecutor and Robin confer?”

“Beats me,” the green haired man said. “But it better be something good. Otherwise Ace is going to prison.”

* * *

About an hour later, the court was in session again. Judge Sengoku cleared his throat. “It appears we have a surprise witness. Despite the fact that this is highly unorthodox, we will allow it. Ms Nico has stated to have no further questions for Mr Akainu, therefore we will continue with the next witness, who is an eyewitness as well.”

The public prosecutor didn’t look very happy. The sly smile was wiped off his face. Sanji poked Zoro in the ribs. The swordsman nodded and grinned.

The doors of the courtroom opened and a very muscular man entered. He had a gruff face and grey-green hair, reminding Sanji of Zoro. He nudged his neighbour again and whispered: “Family?” He got a deadly look in response.

After the witness had taken his seat, judge Sengoku asked him to state his name and profession. “Smoker, captain on the police force,” came the gruff reply.

Robin stood up. “Do you know the whereabouts of the defendant on the night of the burn down of the Baratie?”

Sanji could hear Zoro holding his breath.

“Yes. He was with me.”

Again, the public was stirred up and had to be silenced by Sengoku’s hammer.

Robin smiled. “When did you meet?”

“He came to my house around two in the morning on the night in question. He stayed till after five. During that time, he didn’t leave my sight. My neighbours can vouch for that.”

“Why did you wait until now to testify?”

“I like my privacy. That brat… Mr Portgas and myself have an agreement not to talk about what we do at night. He has stuck to that till the very end, as you all have witnessed. I only heard today that they had found an eyewitness, as I was being buried in work. But though what Mr Portgas and I have can hardly be described as a relationship, the brat doesn’t deserve to go to prison for it.”

Robin smiled slightly. “Then what is it you have, Mr Smoker?”

“Call it stress relieving. We’re not in love or anything. The boy might be an idiot, but he is an innocent idiot.”

Sengoku nodded. “I’ve heard enough. Prosecutor, your closing speech?”

* * *

 

Sanji was already smoking his third cigarette to calm his nerves. He didn’t know why he was this anxious. Ace had declared at the end of the trial he had indeed been with Smoker on the night of the fire. He hadn’t talked because of their agreement.

But still, it was a respected business man’s word against that of a police officer. Also the closing speech of the public prosecutor had been quite convincing. For everyone in the courtroom it was obvious one of the eyewitnesses was lying and the prosecutor had tried to convince the judges it was Smoker. He had cast doubt upon the police captain by bringing up his tendency to carry out his own judgement, not following the rules. The public prosecutor also mentioned casually there had been no fires ever since Ace had been arrested.

The judges had already been consulting for over an hour.

Zoro had been pacing up and down the whole time, even after Nami had yelled at him to sit still. Luffy on the other hand was unusually calm.

Finally, there was announced that a judgement would be passed. After the doors of the courtroom had been closed again, Sengoku cleared his throat. “Will the defendant please rise?”

Ace did as he was bid, together with Robin.

“Like many, we as judges don’t like being fooled. And we feel like that is exactly what has happened in this case. There were not one, but two eyewitnesses who claim to have seen the defendant in the night of the fire in two different places. Not even a man as fit as Mr Portgas would be able to pull that off. This trial was also an unusual one, as Captain Smoker only showed up at the last moment.”

The court was completely silent, one could have heard a pin drop. Sengoku continued: “Not even the arresting officer seemed convinced about whether or not the defendant is guilty. Despite his not always acting according to the book, Captain Smoker is known to be a reliable cop, who wouldn’t meddle in unless he believed something was off. Therefore, after hearing all these witnesses, we find the defendant not guilty.”

Zoro didn’t hear what else the judge had to say. With a grin he pulled Sanji into a hug, ignoring the blond’s struggles and pleads for air.

Slowly, the courtroom became empty and a guard undid Ace’s handcuffs. Luffy bounced to his brother and hugged him, while Sanji, Zoro and Nami followed him.

“Hey guys,” the freckled man greeted them grinning. “Glad you could make it.”

“You’re an idiot, you know that?” Zoro burst out. “Why the hell did you wait so long before telling where you fucking were–”

“Were fucking,” Ace corrected him with a wink.

The green haired man was taking aback for a moment, but then exploded again. His friend waited patiently until he was done ranting and then said: “I missed you too.” After giving Zoro a pat on the shoulder, he looked at Sanji. “And only the thought of you could keep me going,” he said dramatically. “You’ve changed your hair style. I like it.”

Inadvertently, the blond fiddled with his goatee and watched Zoro from the corner of his eye. The green haired man kept silent however.

“Smokey!”

Turning around Sanji saw Captain Smoker approach.

“Thanks for getting me out of jail,” Ace said smiling.

“Yeah, yeah. This is the last time I’m getting you out of trouble, brat.” With that, Smoker walked away again.

“How the hell did you end up with an old guy like him?” Zoro asked.

“He’s not that old,” Ace defended him. “He’s thirty-four. He just looks older, ‘cause he’s a bit grumpy. And I did not ‘end up with him’.” The freckled man looked at his brother who had taken the judge’s seat, playing with the hammer and wasn’t listening anymore. “Like he said, we’re just fuck buddies. We met after a fire, I gave him a blow job in an ally… Well, that’s how it started.”

“You could have gone to jail! Why the hell didn’t you say something?”

Ace looked at his friend and sighed. “It’s a pride thing, Zoro. You of all people should get that.”

The green haired man grumbled something, but the freckled man already changed the subject. “Thanks for taking care of my little bro. All of you.” He bowed deep, surprising Sanji with his politeness. The other two seemed to be a bit more accustomed to his behaviour.

An officer came for Ace, saying he could get his possessions back. The freckled man followed him after he’d told his friends Robin’s husband was getting his van, so they all could go celebrate the good outcome of the trial. They should wait outside the courthouse.

While Ace was gone, Sanji explained to Zoro and Nami – Luffy was distracted by something interesting again – what he knew about Marco as he had promised to do. In front of the court, Ace joined them again as they waited for Franky and Robin.

“By the way, where is that hot arson inspector?” the black haired man asked eagerly while scanning the crowd outside.

Zoro rolled his eyes. “He’s gone home already. Besides, didn’t you just got your ass saved by your lover?”

“Fuck buddy.” Ace pouted. “And he was making a pass at me. How can I ignore that?”

“So you like him?” Sanji asked a little hopeful. After all, he liked Marco and the arson inspector obviously had a thing for Ace.

The black haired man snickered. “What can I say? He’s blond and has a really nice ass. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like yours anymore,” he added with a wink.

The blond rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure. Go after his, please.” He put an unlit cigarette in his mouth and patted his pants in search of his lighter. Oddly enough, he couldn’t find it. “What the hell? Were did I put that shitty thing?” he mumbled.

“Did you loose something?” Ace asked.

“My lighter. Does anyone of you have one? It seems I’ve misplaced mine,” he sighed.

“Zoro, you have one, right?” The black haired man looked at his friend.

“What the hell do you do with a lighter?” Sanji asked with a raised curly eyebrow.

“Open beer bottles.” The swordsman tried to see if the lighter worked.

“Barbarian,” the blond mumbled, but still leaned in with his cigarette between his lips.

Holding his breath, Zoro watched Sanji light his cigarette to the flame of his lighter without taking it out of his mouth. The chef straightened and exhaled contently. “Thanks.”

The green haired man was still staring as he nodded, and swallowed a few times to get rid of his dry mouth.

When Sanji exhaled, Nami suddenly started to cough. It sounded exaggerated to Zoro, as she spent a lot of time in smoky bars. The blond didn’t know that, though, and quickly apologised: “I’m so sorry, my beautiful flower, I’m smoking all over you. I’ll go stand over there.”

After the chef had taken his distance, Nami immediately stopped coughing and took something out of her purse. “Pay up,” she said to Ace.

His eyebrows raised, Zoro watched how the snickering freckled man handed the orange haired woman some money and she gave him something silver and square. “Why the hell do you have Sanji’s lighter?” the swordsman asked in a hushed tone.

Nami shrugged. “He said he’d pay me if I got it for him.” She nodded at Ace.

The green haired man looked at his friend. “Well?”

“’Cause I knew he would lean in like that,” Ace snickered. “He let me lit his cigarette once. And admit it, you thought it was hot too.”

Zoro couldn’t deny that, but mumbled: “A woman had a hand in his pocket and the idiot doesn’t even notice it.”

%MCEPASTEBIN%


	9. Chapter 9

With screeching brakes, a van with the text ‘Franky’s Contracting’ stopped right in front of them. One of the side doors slid open and the figure of Usopp appeared, a large grin plastered on his face.

“Usopp?” Sanji said surprised, crushing out the butt of his cigarette. “What are you doing here?”

His old roommate folded his arms before his chest and threw his head back in laughter, like he did often when he told a made up story. “Ah, didn’t I tell you? I own this corporation, with over ten thousand employees—”

Luffy’s, as well as Ace’s, eyes started to shine. “Really?”

Sanji gave them both a kick in the head. “The van says ‘ _Franky’s_ Contracting’. So really, what are you doing here, Usopp?”

The long nosed man jumped out of the van. “I told you I did a work placement? Franky’s my boss. He told me you guys were going for a drink, so I decided to come along. I had borrowed the van for reasons I can’t explain here in broad daylight, but it involves a secret plan to rob the museum…”

Sanji ignored his former roommate’s ramblings and imaginary plans, while Luffy and Ace listened with glee. Robin and Franky got out of the front seats. “So why did you hire an architect?” the blond asked the latter.

“He was very enthusiastic to work in the field instead of always behind the drawing tables, but he also helps me out with the designs. His drawings are SUPERRR,” the contractor explained. “He was also very excited to work with you. Usopp said you two have been roommates.”

“That’s right. Oi, Usopp,” a mischievous smile had appeared on Sanji’s face, “you do realise you will be working _for_ me, right?”

The architect stopped mid-sentence and gulped, making both Sanji and Zoro snicker.

The green haired man strolled over to Robin and said a little reluctantly: “Thanks for getting Ace out of prison. I must say I misjudged you.”

“You see, I told you a woman as beautiful as Robin didn’t have a secret agenda. Isn’t that right, Robin-chwan?” Sanji meddled in.

The lawyer smiled mysteriously, making the blond almost swoon. “I was just doing my job.”

“Doesn’t that bother you?” Zoro asked Franky, gesturing to the cook, who was practically radiating hearts.

The contractor burst into laughter. “Nah, I get it. Robin is SUPERRR. But she married me.” He winked at the swordsman, before continuing: “Shall we get something to eat first?”

“Yay, food!” Luffy stopped listening to Usopp’s made up story and almost danced towards them. “I’m hungry!”

“When aren’t you?” Zoro asked, shaking his head.

“I know a nice pizzeria nearby, if that’s okay with our chef,” Franky said.

Sanji chuckled. “Pizza sounds fine to me.”

One by one, they crawled into the van. Usopp introduced himself to Ace – he had forgotten to do that earlier, being caught up in his tall stories. Sanji pouted because he couldn’t sit next to Nami or Robin, the latter being in the front seat and Luffy sitting next to his girlfriend. So he had to put up with sitting next to Usopp and opposite Zoro.

“So how was prison?” Luffy asked his brother.

“Not as fun as everyone claims it to be.” Ace pouted a little. “I mean, I was in my cell all night alone–”

But before the raven haired man could finish his sentence – which Sanji didn’t really mind, because it was likely to end dirty – Franky braked hard, launching the blond almost in Zoro’s lap despite wearing his seatbelt. “What the hell?” he exclaimed.

Franky turned around to face them. “We’re here.”

“Geez, I thought you’d almost hit something,” Sanji muttered.

Nami was shocked as well and Usopp looked like he almost had a heart attack. “I never get used to his driving style,” he mumbled.

Zoro, on the other hand, appeared to be just bored, though in reality he was fed up with the seatbelt Sanji was wearing. He would happily hold the cook in one place, against his own body.

Ace and Luffy were rather amused, the first giving the swordsman a knowing wink. Zoro glared at him, but he was really glad he had Ace again to talk to about Sanji. Nami wasn’t really an option, as she would hold what he told her against him and would probably use it to blackmail him. Luffy wouldn’t understand, probably. Even though the boy had a girlfriend, he still was very innocent.

On their way to the pizzeria, they saw a very tall man approaching with an extremely large afro. Sanji was about to greet him, but Luffy was quicker. “Oi, Brook!” The boy waved with both his arms, even though the musician was only a few yards away.

The tall man stopped and took off his top hat, standing high on his big afro. “Ah, good evening, Luffy-san, Sanji-san.” He bowed towards the ladies. “May I please see your panties?” Sanji kicked him, before Brook turned to him. “It’s been a while. How have you been, Sanji-san?”

“I’m doing fine. Busy and all,” the blond answered.

“But you two work together, don’t you?” Nami furrowed her eyebrows.

“You’re so beautiful when you’re confused, Melorine~! But I quit that job a while ago, because I was too busy with rebuilding the Baratie,” the blond explained. “Didn’t I tell you that?”

“You told me,” Zoro said. He couldn’t help but feel a little proud for knowing something before the rest did.

“We’re going to eat,” Luffy told Brook happily. “Pizza. With a lot of meat! Are you coming too?”

“Perhaps I should eat more, since I’m hardly more than skin and bones. Yohohoho~! But I have already had dinner,” he excused himself.

“We’re going for drinks later as well. Do you want to join in?” Sanji asked.

“That would be nice, thank you.”

“I’ll text you were we’re at.”

Brook nodded and lifted his hat, hooking his cane over his arm. “I’ll see you all later tonight then.”

“Bye Brook.” Luffy waved again until the musician had disappeared. “He’s so funny.”

They entered the pizzeria. Sanji put on his reading glasses and got the menu. While trying to decide which pizza he was going to get, he caught Ace staring at him. “What?”

“I didn’t know it was possible, but with glasses you’re like ten times as hot,” the black haired man answered grinning.

The blond smirked. “I know, right?”

The waitress came by and they all ordered. Sanji flirted with her a little; it had been a while since he had the chance to fawn over women with whom he had a chance. When their orders were brought, the chef chewed his pizza deliberately. It was okay, but he could do it better. Well, what couldn’t he do better when it came to food?

He looked at Zoro, who was staring at his pizza. “What’s wrong, Marimo? Got lost on the way to your mouth?” he teased.

The swordsman glared at him dangerously, but then said: “It’s missing something. I just can’t figure out what.”

“Let me try.”

Zoro picked up a piece he hadn’t eaten from yet and handed it to the blond, but instead of taking it, Sanji just took a bite and chewed thoughtful. The green haired man stared at him, did he really just fed the blond?

“Well, it needs more oregano for sure, but I think you can solve a little with just pepper.” The chef handed Zoro the pepper mill. The swordsman followed his advice and ate the slice with relish, trying not to think how this could be considered an indirect kiss.

The chef leaned with his head on his hand and smiled. “See?”

“Sanji, you’re gonna cook for me, right? ‘Cause I was good in the courtroom?” Luffy asked, his mouth full with a slice of his second pizza.

“Hm, I don’t know. You did yell at that beautiful psychologist that she was a liar,” Sanji answered, partly teasing, partly accusing.

The boy pouted. “But she was lying! And she had no right bringing Sabo in!”

The blond raised an eyebrow. Sabo probably was the friend of Ace who died in a fire when he was a kid.

“I agree,” Ace stepped in. “For a gorgeous blond, she was rather a bitch.”

“Don’t talk about a lady like that!” the chef burst out, but Luffy started to whine again.

“Sanjiiii~, cook for me! I was good!”

Annoyed, Nami pinched the bridge of her nose. “Oh, for Pete’s sake, just cook for him! He did behave, considering his usual behaviour.”

The blond’s attitude veered round immediately. “Anything for you, Nami-swan!”

“That’s so unfair! You should cook for me too, I haven’t had anything beside prison food and this pizza in a long time,” Ace pouted. “Usopp must have tried it like a hundred times and Robin told me you also offered to cook for her and Franky. I shouldn’t be the only one left out! Zoro, has he cooked for you already?”

“Actually, he has made me _breakfast_ twice already.” The green haired man smirked.

Sanji stiffened when everybody stared at him suddenly. It was true of course, but the way Zoro said it made it sound so… gay.

“I’m sorry, was that supposed to be our secret?” the swordsman teased.

Sanji kicked the man under the table and said to the others, who were still staring at him: “It’s not like that! The first time I stayed at his place because it was pouring and he lives all the way across town. And the second time he stayed at my place so he wouldn’t get lost in the dark.”

Robin chuckled and both Nami and Ace shot the green haired man a knowing look. Annoyed, the swordsman continued with his pizza.

“So you’ll cook for me too?” Ace asked Sanji hopeful.

He rubbed his temples. “Fine. Geez, when did I became everyone’s personal chef?” He tried to sound irritated. There was no need for them to know he loved to cook for his friends; that would only lead to a full time job. He gave Usopp, who knew he liked to make dinner for his friends, a warning look. His former roommate went pale and shoved a too big of a bite in his mouth. Sanji nodded approvingly.

“The minute you walked into their lives,” Zoro answered his question.

* * *

After dinner, they walked back to the van to find a bar. Sanji put a cigarette in his mouth and Zoro wanted to light it, but unfortunately for him Usopp also carried a lighter and this time the cook let his old friend light his cigarette. Gritting his teeth, he watched the blond leaning in. It still looked hot, though. Ace gave the green haired man a pat on the back.

“By the way, Marimo, have you bought groceries yet? Remember I told you to after I left your place the first time?” Sanji inquired exhaling smoke.

“I kinda had too.” When the blond looked at him intrigued, he continued smirking: “I was outta beer.”

“That’s not what I meant, Muscle-head! I meant healthy food, instead of that greasy take-out.”

“What, worried I might get fat?” Zoro asked challenging.

Sanji eyed the man in front of him. He was wearing a tight white t-shirt, which showed off his abs nicely, if the blond was interested in that kind of thing. Which he wasn’t.

“Maybe you should put on a few pounds. I could snap you like a twig now,” the swordsman taunted.

“I like to see you try with your brains kicked to pulp.”

“Bring it.” Zoro got ready just in time to avoid a deadly kick.

The others watched, some annoyed, others in awe and some were cheering them on. “O-oi guys, stop it!” Usopp tried. It didn’t work. Franky stepped in, but was just pushed aside. In the end, it took a fed up Nami to give them both – and the cheering Luffy – a smack on the head for them to stop.

“Damn Sanji, I didn’t know you could bend like that.” Ace bit his lip.

The chef decided to play along. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

The black haired man pretended to swoon, while Nami gave him a smack on the head for good measure.

* * *

 

Franky drove them to the nearest bar and Sanji texted Brook their whereabouts. While drinks were ordered and they waited for the tall musician, the blond asked Usopp: “By the way, what happened to that cute brunette from a few weeks ago?”

“Ah, while you were fighting, she gave me her number and we went out a couple of times. She was really cute, but unfortunately she got a job offer in Japan.” Usopp sighed.

A teasing smile appeared on Sanji’s face: “Poor Usopp. So you’ve been dumped, hm?”

His cheeks flushed. “I-I wasn’t dumped! She got a really good job offer!” He sat up straight and snorted: “You’re just jealous because she was interested in me, and not you.”

“Why would I be jealous when I could have the other two?”

“One,” his former roommate corrected him. “That short girl liked Zoro.”

The swordsman looked up when he heard his name, but as the conversation was about girls, he focused on his beer again.

“That’s just ‘cause the lighting was bad and she couldn’t see the seaweed that grows on his head.”

“Then the other must have been blind not to notice your freakish eyebrow,” Zoro commented.

“There was nothing wrong with her! It’s not my fault she’s got good taste.”

“How do you know she even liked you? You haven’t even gone out with her, Curly-brow.”

“That’s because you got us kicked out of the bar, Muscle-head!”

Both were standing by now, leaning on the table between them and scowling at each other.

Ace looked at them in amusement. “They didn’t have this kind of entertainment in prison.”

That earned him both a kick and a punch at the same time. Sanji and Zoro both sat down, scowling at each other.

At that moment, Brook entered the bar with a loud “Yohoho!” and the tension seemed to drain.

They were without a doubt the loudest table in the room. More often than not, they got curious or annoyed looks from the other guests, but none of them cared. Brook, Usopp and Luffy were singing songs, while the latter stuffed his face with bar food. Sanji was partly amazed, partly disgusted of how much fitted into his mouth. Nami was annoyed at first, but then struck up a conversation with Robin and the two women seemed to get along. Franky showed some dance moves, which were first admired and then tried to be imitated by Luffy and Usopp. Ace told Sanji and Zoro how it was like in prison and they filled him in on what he had missed. The black haired man practically rolled over the ground in laughter when Vivi’s wedding came up, causing Sanji to flush and Zoro’s eyebrow to twitch irritated. When Ace was done hiccupping, he said: “It’s a shame I missed it though. I’ll call her soon.”

Sanji was about to comment when he noticed a familiar head of blond hair sitting at the bar. Ace turned around and followed his gaze and a large grin appeared on his face when he recognised the arson inspector.

Marco raised his beer bottle towards them, before turning back. Ace sat still for a few seconds, before jumping up and making his way to the bar. Sanji was a little amazed how easy the raven haired man struck up a conversation. The chef himself didn’t have a lot of male friends because he always remained distant and polite. Of course, he could talk to Usopp, they had been living together for almost a year. Ace was easy to talk to and for some reason Zoro was as well, when they weren’t fighting. Talking to girls, on the other hand, was his nature. Well, Ace being bi, he probably could both talk to men and women.

It didn’t take long before the black haired man dragged Marco over to their table, his eyes shining with glee. “Guys, this is Marco. Marco, this is my brother Luffy and his girlfriend Nami,” he gestured towards them, “my awesome lawyer Robin and her husband Franky…”

“It’s SUPERRR to meet you.” Franky struck a pose, holding his arms pressed together diagonally in the air.

“…Usopp, Brook and Zoro with his boyfriend Sanji,” Ace finished introducing.

The swordsman almost choked on his beer and the blond shot out of his chair. “He’s not my boyfriend!” the latter exclaimed.

“Really? Because I saw you guys holding hands in the courtroom,” Nami said devilishly.

“We weren’t holding hands; he was trying to _break_ my hand!”

“And you were hugging,” she continued undisturbed.

“Again, he was breaking my ribs, Melorine~!” The last part sounded almost begging and he had to remind himself he was talking to a lady. “Besides, I’ve already met Marco.”

“Eeh?! You’re dating my friend behind my back?” Ace stared at Marco accusingly, who raised an eyebrow.

Sanji rubbed his temples. “He’s an arson inspector. My restaurant burned down by arson. How do you think we’ve met?”

“Oh, that’s right! Marco, sit down.” Ace tapped with his hand invitingly on the seat next to him.

Sanji exchanged a look with the other blond and then walked towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Ace said a little worried. “I was just kiddin’…”

The chef held up a cigarette. “Getting a smoke. Usopp, can I borrow your lighter again?”

“Oh, that reminds me.” The raven haired man got something from his pocket and handed it to Sanji.

The cook looked surprised to the object in his hand. “My lighter? Where did you get it?”

“I found it.”

“Where?”

“Outside the court.” It almost sounded like a question.

“Why didn’t you give it back then?”

“I didn’t know it was yours?” The black haired man put up an innocent face.

Sanji looked from the lighter to Ace. “It has my name on it!”

“Really?” Zoro looked over his shoulder. “It doesn’t say ‘Curly-brow’ anywhere.”

“That’s not my name, Moss-head!”

“You don’t seem to know mine, either!”

They stood facing each other, their faces mere inches apart, until Sanji snorted and exited the bar. It took him two cigarettes to calm down. That damn Marimo always got on his nerves. And it seemed that Ace had taken lessons to annoy him with the swordsman. He could forgive the black haired man; after all, he had spent the last few weeks in prison. But Zoro…

When the nicotine had done it’s job, he returned to his friends. Ace had crawled unto Marco’s lap, which the older man didn’t seem to mind at all.

“Watch this,” Sanji heard Usopp whisper to Ace, before the architect cleared his throat. “Sanji, what are the basic ingredients to pancakes?”

“Flour, milk and eggs, a pinch of salt. Why?” he added suspiciously.

Before his former roommate could answer, Nami asked: “Sanji, could you get me a drink?”

He twirled around, hearts fluttering all around him. “Right away, my beautiful Nami-swan~,” he sang.

“Che, do you think they found a cure against idiocy yet?” Zoro smirked.

The blond turned sharply around on his heels. “What did you say?”

But instead of a snappy remark, the swordsman’s grin grew wider and the others at the table started laughing as well.

“What’s so funny?” the blond snapped.

“See, I told you! It’s like he’s got three personalities.” Usopp slammed his hand on the table in laughter.

Sanji’s aura turned dark dangerously fast. “So this was your idea, Usopp?”

The architect want pale and gulped. “T-take it easy. It was just a joke… Don’t kill me!” He hid behind Franky’s broad back.

“Don’t pull me into this, Usopp-bro!” His boss tried to step away.

Before anyone could be killed however, Nami tapped the blond on the shoulder. “Sanji, my drink…?”

“Right away, Melorine~!”

Zoro watched the cook dance away. The smile had disappeared from his face. “Che, idiot.” Still, he couldn’t help but stare after the love struck chef. Suddenly, he noticed Robin looking at him, wearing an all-knowing smile and quickly, he focussed on something else. He didn’t need that damn woman knowing about his business.

“Who wants to play darts?” Usopp asked after the chef had returned. Franky wanted to join in, saying he was super at darts. Sanji shook his head. He knew better than to challenge the architect at this game. His former roommate sometimes reminded him of a sharpshooter. In college he was three years in a row champion darts.

“Zoro! Could you get me another beer?” Ace asked the green haired man, who was already on his way to the bar. His friend nodded.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Nami asked a little worried.

“Ah, you’re so beautiful when you are concerned,” Sanji swooned.

Ace pouted. “Come on, I just got out of jail! Let me have a little fun.”

The orange haired girl shrugged. “Fine. Whatever.”

“You’re so beautiful when you don’t care, Melorine~!”

Zoro came back, placing a beer bottle in front of Ace, before pressing one in Sanji’s hands. “Thanks,” the latter stammered.  
The green haired man grunted something that sounded like “You’re welcome,” before sitting down. The conversation continued. They talked about all sorts of things, every now and then interrupted by an exclamation of “SUPERRR!” by Franky, or “Usopp, you’re so cool!” by Luffy. Suddenly, the friends heard a muffled bang. Ace had landed face first in the plate of chicken wings that was standing before him. A loud snoring sound arose.

Nami rubbed her temples. “That’s where I was afraid of.”

“You mean this is normal?” Sanji asked a little startled.

She nodded. “Ace has narcolepsy. When he drinks too much alcohol, eats too much or over exhausts himself, he spontaneously falls asleep. Like this.”

Marco carefully lifted up the black haired man’s head and wiped his face clean with a napkin. After that, Ace’s head rolled against the shoulder of the arson inspector. They looked rather cute together.

Franky walked up to them. “I think I’m heading home. It’s getting late and otherwise I won’t be SUPER in the morning.”

The others got up as well, as Franky was their ride. “The guest of honour is asleep anyway,” Nami shrugged. “Oh Marco, could you be a dear and bring Ace home?”

“And you better bring him home safe,” Zoro added in a threatening tone. Ace may seem to like the arson inspector, but that was no reason for him to trust him yet.

“Come on, Marimo. In the worst case scenario, I know where he lives.” Sanji nodded to Marco and then grabbed the swordsman’s arm. The green haired man let himself be lead along.

* * *

It was a few days later when Zoro stood hesitantly on the doorstep of a certain blond cook’s home. Marco had brought home Ace safely and the two of them had gone out on their first date. The black haired man was walking on air. Zoro couldn’t remember seeing him this happy ever, so the swordsman was glad as well. He had just came from Ace’s place and the raven haired man had gone on and on about how great Marco was. Zoro had smiled, but at some point he couldn’t take it anymore and had fled.

And now, early in the evening, he was standing in front of Sanji’s door, debating whether or not he should ring the doorbell. He decided to risk it.

It took a few minutes before the front door was opened and a sleepy blond head appeared. The chef was wearing a loose shirt and sweatpants. “Marimo? What are you doing here?”

“I was in the neighbourhood.”

“Does that mean you were lost and happened to recognise my house?” Sanji teased.

Zoro growled something, but took the offer when the chef stepped aside to let him in. “Did I wake ya?”

“Hm, I might have dozed off.” Sanji stretched himself, revealing some pale, well-toned stomach. “Have you eaten yet?”

Zoro looked at the clock. It was half past eight, but he had completely forgotten about dinner. “Not yet. I just came from Ace’s place. He kept blabbering about Marco.”

Sanji disappeared into the kitchen and the swordsman heard some rumbling around. When the blond came back, he said: “I’m heating up some leftovers. But I’m glad those two are hitting it off. Marco seemed to be pretty upset when he found out Ace was arrested. He definitely has a crush on him.”

When the food was warm, the chef handed Zoro a plate and they sat down on the couch. The TV was still on, showing the news. While eating, the swordsman watched Sanji from the corner of his eye. He hadn’t seen him in something other than a suit often, except when he was wearing boxers in bed or, well, nothing. He couldn’t help but snicker at that last thought.

“You didn’t just stop by so I would feed you, did ya?” the chef interrupted his thoughts.

“What? Afraid I only like you for your cooking?” Zoro teased. He put his now empty plate on the coffee table. Sanji snorted, but the green haired man thought to see a glimpse of insecurity in the chef’s eyes. “Don’t worry. Nobody likes the shit you call food.”

The blond kicked him and it would have become a full fledged fight if the swordsman hadn’t noticed that Sanji was rubbing his own shoulder with a pained face. “Does it hurt?” he asked.

“Just a bit sore. Work’s a little stressful lately.”

“Take off your shirt.”

The cook stared at him. “’xcuse me?”

“C’me on. I’ll give you a massage.”

Slowly and a bit cautious, Sanji did as he was told, revealing increasingly more well-toned chest. Zoro tried not to stare, instead snapping: “I haven’t got all day!” When the sweatshirt was thrown aside, the swordsman commanded him to lie face down on the couch. In his head, he was still debating whether or not this was a good idea, but his hands were itching to touch the sexy cook.

When Sanji had done as he bade, the green haired man gently rubbed the slightly muscled shoulders, earning a soft moan. Shit, he hadn’t thought about that. He applied more pressure, but that only resulted in a louder moan. The sounds of the chef’s voice went straight to his groin. He tried to think about things that turned him off, like Luffy’s smelly socks, or the time he accidentally bumped into Nami in the shower. The cook didn’t make it easy for him though, continuing to make all kinds of sexy noises. Zoro’s pants started to grow tight, so he had to think of the ultimate turnoff. One time he had seen old lady Kokoro, one of his neighbours, sunbathing in a bikini. That worked. A shiver went down his spine and he no longer had to worry about an erection. He gave Sanji’s now relaxed shoulders one last rub, before sitting down on the couch.

He watched Sanji sit up, sighing contently. “Holy crap, Zoro. I think you missed your calling as masseur.”

He smirked. “So you liked it?”

“Are you kiddin’? I need a cigarette after this.”

All kinds of thoughts were running through his head right now. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, before finally getting out: “Yeah, the neighbours probably think so too.”

Sanji had just lit up a cigarette he had conjured up from somewhere and cocked his eyebrow. “What d’ya mean?”

“Really? The way you were moaning…”

He flushed. “I wasn’t moaning!”

“Like I fucked you raw.”

The cook’s face had the colour of a tomato by now, but the swordsman decided to push him a little further. “I was surprised you didn’t scream my name at the end.”

He had expected the kick, but still he couldn’t prevent the foot from crushing into his stomach. He gasped for air. Shit, even without shoes those kicks were deadly.

“Ass,” Sanji muttered and hugged a pillow.

They sat together in silence for a while, watching some old movie. From the corner of his eye, Zoro saw Sanji’s head slowly tilt to the side. The blond was drifting off. Zoro got up from the couch, turning off the television and laying a blanket over his shoulders. After placing the plate in the kitchen, he silently closed the front door behind him.

He looked from right to left and back. Which way was his house again? He sighed and picked a random direction, making a mental note never to tell Sanji about this.

%MCEPASTEBIN%


	10. Chapter 10

Over the next couple of days, Zoro visited Sanji more often. Ace was too busy with Marco, and if he wasn’t, he was talking about the arson inspector. Zoro didn’t mind that much, after all, he was glad that Ace was happy and Marco was nice as well, but still it could get annoying. But well, nobody likes to be the third wheel, do they?

All of his close friends were in relationships, except Sanji. The chef used ‘being too busy with the restaurant’ as an excuse, but Zoro got the feeling the blond just didn’t want to be in a relationship for a while. After all, how often can someone’s heart get broken before he grows tired of it?

That was probably the reason he let Zoro in every time the swordsman came by. They had become close friends over time. At night, they would watch the news together or a movie, or sometimes just chat. And of course they fought, that’s what they did best.

Sanji had noticed as well they had become quite close and he even found himself looking forward to Zoro’s visits. He didn’t tell anyone about it, they would probably just tease him for getting excited over a man visiting. Still, he made sure his fridge was always stocked with beer.

The blond became visibly more relaxed around Zoro. He wouldn’t let the green haired man massage his back anymore, because he was embarrassed of the sounds he had made the first time, but when he popped his feet on the couch one night and Zoro started to rub them thoughtlessly, he didn’t stop him.

“Ah, that’s good,” he sighed when Zoro pressed his thumb on a sore spot on his foot. The last couple of days, he was on his feet all the time. The renovations to the new restaurant were prosperous. Franky hadn’t lied when he said he was “SUPER” as contractor, but it did mean Sanji was on his feet running errands all the time. Today had been no exception. And it was mostly just him and Zeff, aside from the contractor’s men as the other chefs and waiters had found other jobs for in the meantime.

“You’ve been busy?” Zoro asked.

“Yeah. We’ve heard today we might actually get the insurance money, so I had to go to those insurance guys. They let me fill in all kinds of forms, most of them I think I’ve filled in six times already. Ah! Right there!”

A small smile appeared on Zoro’s face. He loved to make the chef moan like that. He had been a little disappointed – but he hadn’t shown that of course – when the blond forbade him from ever massaging him again, but apparently that didn’t apply to his feet.

“So what about you?” Sanji asked, suppressing a moan. “How’s your work going?”

“Hm, business is slow. So I might have to find another bodyguard or bouncer job soon.” Lost in thought, he pressed his thumb in the sensitive flesh of Sanji’s foot, only looking up when the blond arched his back and bit his lip not to scream in pleasure. He smirked. “Not getting a lot of action lately, eh?”

“Shut up. Things are busy, so I don’t have time to meet cute girls.”

“Doesn’t Franky have any girls working for him?” The swordsman mentally slapped himself. He hadn’t meant to give dating advice.

“Sure he does. Very few, though. But I don’t date employees.”

“Who said anything about dating?” Zoro teased.

“I don’t do one night stands. And I bet you don’t fuck your clients either.”

“I don’t. But that’s because most of them are middle aged women who hire me to find out if their husbands are cheating on them. Which, in most cases they are, so I’ve been offered plenty of sex as revenge.”

Sanji snickered before shaking his head. “Men are sleazebags.”

“You’re a guy too.”

“I know that, shitty swordsman! But I would never cheat on a lady.”

They sat in silence for a while, before Sanji asked: “Since you ain’t doing anything lately, how’s your love life going?”

“Pretty much like business,” the swordsman snorted. He looked from the corner of his eye to the blond next to him.

“So were do you usually meet guys?” the cook continued.

‘ _At the bus stop_ ,’ the green haired thought, but he said: “You know, everywhere. In gay bars and such.”

“Then why don’t you go there?”

“Do you go alone to bars? Now Ace is dating Marco, he’s not an option anymore. Nami went along sometimes with her girlfriends when they wanted to party, but didn’t want to be groped – you’re right, straight men are sleazebags.”

Sanji kicked him with his now relaxed foot. “Not all of them. But why don’t you take her with you, then?”

Zoro stayed silent for a while. He really didn’t have a good reason not to go. “I just don’t feel like going clubbin’.”

“So you rather sit here on the couch with me?” the blond asked teasing.

“With you the beer is free,” he answered smirking.

The cook laughed and shook his head. “It’s always about shitty booze with you, isn’t it?”

Zoro cast aside a glance, but didn’t respond.

“You okay?” Sanji cocked his curly eyebrow.

“No. I’m outta beer.” The green haired man shook his now empty bottle.

“Hm, go get some more yourself. I’m too relaxed to get up.”

When the swordsman got back, Sanji had changed the channel, which showed a make-over programme. The blond shook his head. “Who would participate in that?”

“I don’t know. Didn’t you get a make-over recently?” Zoro smirked.

“T-that’s different! I’m not in some shitty program. And I changed my style for a good reason.”

“Which is?”

“M-my eye was red on the day of the wedding, so…”

An all-knowing smirk appeared on Zoro’s face. “Oh? But if that’s still the case, you might want to go to a doctor.”

“It’s not. But changing all the time is such a hassle…”

The swordsman leaned in, bringing their faces close together. “You sure that’s the reason? Not because someone said he liked it?”

The blond sat frozen. There was that tension again, the same he had felt when they were lying in bed together – he still couldn’t believe that had really happened – the night after Vivi’s wedding. He couldn’t look away from Zoro’s dark, penetrating eyes.

At that moment, a ‘ping’ sound came from the kitchen. “My spinach quiche!” Sanji jumped from the couch and ran to the kitchen, leaving behind a stunned Zoro. Quickly, he removed the quiche from the oven, preventing it from burning. Then he leaned on the counter, trying to collect his thoughts. What the fuck just happened? No, what the fuck just happened _again_? Zoro had made quite clear he wasn’t interested in him, so what was that tension all about?

He grabbed a beer from the fridge and took a draught. He was probably just imagining things. It had just been too long since he had been on a proper date and now his mind confused every moment of eye contact as something deeper. He was a romantic after all.

He cut off two pieces of the quiche and took them to the sitting area, where Zoro was waiting.

“You sure were quick.” In the swordsman’s voice lay a mocking tone.

“I didn’t want my quiche to burn. Just be glad I feed you.” A mischievous smile appeared on Sanji’s face. “I’m sorry, but I might have used some relatives of yours to make this.”

“What was that?!”

The food was forgotten and within a second, they were at daggers drawn. Zoro lashed out and the blond chef could only avoid him at the last second. A smirk appeared on the cook’s face. This was great. He hadn’t had a good workout in a while. But above all, no awkward eye contact or weird tension. Just a full-fletched fight, as he liked it.

It took the neighbour – a large man called Jinbe – to ring at the door for them to stop. Sanji assured the man with flushed cheeks they would keep it down and it wouldn’t happen again.

“Are you happy now? You’re disturbing my neighbours,” he spat at Zoro.

“Me? You’re the one that kept screaming,” the swordsman snorted.

“I did not! Just eat your quiche. It’s still tasty when it’s lukewarm.”

They ate in silence, watching some old western. It was in the middle of some thrilling chasing scene, when Zoro felt something caressing against his groin. He suppressed a moan, as the foot in his lap moved again. His head snapped to the side. Sanji had fallen asleep.

A little disappointed, he moved the blond’s legs from his lap and quietly, he rose and lifted the cook bridal style. He managed to get upstairs without waking Sanji and after trying a few doors, he found the one leading to the bedroom.

But when he had only a few paces to go, he tripped over a chair leg. The blond landed on the bed and the green haired man ended up half on top of him. Sanji’s eyes flung open. “What the hell?!”

“You fell asleep, so I thought I would put you to bed.”

“And then you decided to join me?!”

He smirked, though Sanji couldn’t see that in the dark. “Why not? You have a comfortable bed.”

“You’re on top of me!” The blond pushed him off and rolled on his side. “Ugh, I’m too tired for this. Stay, don’t stay. Do whatever you want.”

That was the kind of invitation Zoro was waiting for. True, not exactly how he wanted it, but still. He kicked off his boots and crawled on the other side of the mattress. He lay down and smirked. Finally, he was in Sanji’s bed.

* * *

In the middle of the night, he woke up from the blond’s tossing about. Beads of sweat covered his forehead and he mumbled inconsistent things.

“Oi.” Zoro shook his shoulder to wake him up. “Oi, Cook!”

Sanji’s eyes flung open and when he looked up, he stared into the swordsman’s worried face. The blond yelped and rolled off the bed. “What the hell are you doing in my bed?” he shrieked when he had collected himself.

“You said to do whatever I wanted,” the green haired man shrugged.

“I meant that you could crash on the couch if you liked! Not to sleep _in my bed_.”

Zoro shrugged again. “Then you should have been more specific. So, you were having a nightmare?”

Sanji went with his hand through his hair. “I-it’s nothing.”

“Had ‘em before?”

The blond sighed and crawled into bed again. “Sometimes. It’s always the same. It starts out wonderful. I’m at sea, the most beautiful ocean you can imagine. It’s called All Blue. There are all kinds of fish, in every colour imaginable. I’m on a small rowing boat and everywhere I look is water. But then a storm breaks out. The boat keels over and I land in the water. I get pulled down, but I don’t drown. I wash ashore on an island, but nothing grows there. There is no food, just enough fresh water to keep me alive. Barely. Ships go and went, but they never see me. So I slowly starve to death, all alone.” He suppressed a sob.

Zoro listened in silence. When the cook was finished, he asked: “Do you have it often?”

Sanji sighed. “Not that often. Usually when I’m stressed or something.”

The swordsman nodded and got up.

“Where are you going?” A trace of panic sounded through the cook’s voice.

“Making you some warm milk. Sounds like you could use that.”

A smile appeared on his face. “Oi Marimo,” he said when the other man had just left the room. “Don’t use the same recipe as your cocoa. I don’t think I can handle that much rum at this hour.”

* * *

Sanji woke from the sunlight that was shining through the curtains. Without opening his eyes, he smiled when he felt a warm body next to him. “Morning, sweetie,” he mumbled, while leaning in for a kiss.

“Morning, baby,” a deep voice answered.

Sanji’s eye flung open and gasped, almost falling out of bed again. “Marimo! Stop being in my bed!”

The swordsman smirked. “That’s not what you said last night.”

Embarrassed, the blond turned away. It was kind of true. When Zoro had come back with two mugs of warm milk, they had talked for a while and it had really calmed him down. That caused him to make the mistake of saying: “Thanks for staying over.”

Sanji got up without looking at the other man. “I only said that because you probably had put rum in my milk anyway.”

“Not in yours.”

The cook shook his head and gathered his clothes.

“So, why don’t you come over to my place tonight?” Zoro casually suggested, while keeping an eye on the figure of the blond. “It’s closer to the restaurant anyway.”

“Are you assuming I’m staying the night? Can’t you get enough of slumber parties?” the chef teased. “But,” he continued seriously, “I can’t tonight. I promised Luffy I’d cook for him.”

“Oh. Well, have fun then.”

“Are you jealous?” the chef mocked. “I can’t spend all my time with you.”

“Why would I be jealous? If you’re not coming, I finally don’t have to eat your shitty food,” Zoro snorted, putting on his boots.

* * *

That evening, Sanji rang the doorbell of Luffy’s house. After Zoro’s comment on his food, they had fought again, but the chef ended up feeding the shitty swordsman breakfast anyway. The latter had suggested they could spar together sometimes in a place where they had space and wouldn’t disturb the neighbours. He had agreed. After all, besides Zoro, he didn’t know anyone who stood a chance with him.

The door opened and the voluptuous figure of Nami appeared on the doorstep. “Ah, Nami-swan! I didn’t know I had the honour to cook for someone as lovely such as yourself!”

The orange haired woman waved away his flirtations. “Yeah, yeah. Just hurry up, Luffy’s hungry.”

“Is there a time he isn’t?” Sanji asked, following her inside and trying not to stare at her behind.

“Food! And Sanji!” he was greeted by the hyperactive boy. “I’m hungry.”

“So I’ve heard. But you’ll have to be patient until dinner’s ready.” The chef looked around the living room. “Isn’t Ace going to join?”

“Nah, he’s on a date with Marco. But he was pretty bummed when he found out you were coming.” Luffy grinned.

Sanji shook his head and strolled to the kitchen. He had to kick out Luffy a couple of times – as expected – but in general, the black haired boy behaved relatively well. While eating dinner, Sanji told how things were going at the restaurant and Nami explained what she did for a living. Apparently, she was a notary and a damn good one at that. Luffy was between jobs right now and just today his grandfather Garp had stopped by to yell at him about it.

Watching the black haired boy inhale the food, Sanji asked Nami: “How do you usually do things with dinner? Do you cook?”

The woman snorted. “He doesn’t want to pay me, so no. Ace sometimes tries to cook, but every time he manages to set something on fire. It’s a good thing he’s a fireman himself, otherwise the house would have burned down a long time ago. Oddly enough, he never burns himself, though. It’s like the flames can’t touch him,” she mused. “But usually, we eat out.”

“I can give cooking lessons,” the blond offered.

“Thanks, but Luffy’s not patient enough to learn and I’m usually late off work. Ace is the only one who has a shot.”

“Remember Tuesday? Then Marco cooked for us,” Luffy said with his mouth full.

“Oh yes. He’s a fairly decent cook.”

Sanji laughed. “Then I should hope things work out between him and Ace.”

“Or with you and Zoro,” Luffy grinned.

The blond frowned. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, never mind him. He’s still thinking you and Zoro actually dated,” Nami said quickly and shoved a fork full of food in her boyfriend’s mouth.

“Well, we didn’t,” Sanji said curtly. “And even so, why would it help you if I dated Zoro? I would cook for him, not you.”

Luffy pouted. “But Zoro comes over a lot and you don’t. Wait, now that I think of it, he doesn’t come over that often anymore. He’s always hanging out with you!” Accusingly, he pointed with his fork to the chef. But then his frown turned into a smile. “So you must come over, too.”

“I’m sorry, but this is the first night in a long time I’m off early. Usually, I’m too tired to do anything.”

“Then what do you do with Zoro?” Nami inquired.

“Just guy stuff. Talking, watching TV and stuff.”

“That’s not guy stuff,” she snorted.

“We also drink beer.”

She nodded, like she now accepted Sanji’s statement.

“You could do that here,” Luffy pouted.

The blond sighed. “I’ll try to make more time for you. But I can’t drag Zoro along, if he doesn’t want to.”

“Then you should date him!” Luffy exclaimed. “Nami drags me to places I don’t want to go all the time!”

Sanji flushed. Fortunately, the black haired boy just finished licking his plate clean and enthusiastically yelled for dessert.

“You just ate enough to feed an entire orphanage,” the chef said, while collecting the dishes. He was glad the subject had changed.

After dessert – perfect crème brulée – Sanji did the dishes and made coffee for him and Nami, as Luffy was too hyperactive to have any caffeine. The blond sat down on the couch next to the bouncing boy, careful not to spill any of the hot beverage. Nami had excused herself for a moment.

“So why aren’t you dating Zoro?” Luffy asked out of the blue.

The blond almost spit coffee over himself. He had hoped that they were done with this subject, but apparently, the boy didn’t think so. He thought for a moment how he could explain this to someone who was as naive and innocent as Luffy. “Zoro is a guy. I don’t like guys that way,” he tried.

“But you like Zoro.” The black haired boy tilted his head.

“Sure, as a friend. But I don’t like-like him.”

“But Zoro likes you.”

“Yes, but he doesn’t like-like me.” Sanji was beginning to feel desperate.

“Yes, he does.” A grin appeared on his face. “He like-likes you a lot-lot.”

“Luffy!” Nami had just entered the room again. Her voice sounded shrill.

Slowly, Luffy’s words got through to the blond. Zoro liked him? As more than a friend? His face turned pale.

The black haired boy on the other hand didn’t grasp the impact of his words at all. “Nami!” he yelled back cheerfully to his girlfriend.

She ignored him though, and asked carefully: “Sanji?”

“He can’t like me,” the blond mumbled. “He said so himself.”

“Well, than that’s probably true,” the girl said, but she didn’t sound very convincing.

“He can’t like me,” Sanji continued. “We’re friends, that’s all… He can’t…” Suddenly, he got to his feet, placing his coffee mug a little too hard on the coffee table. “I-I got to go. Thank you for a lovely evening.” As fast as he could, he made his way to the door, ignoring – against his custom – Nami’s calls after him.

He just had to leave, to get some fresh air. His whole relationship with Zoro was turned upside down. He had thought they were just good friends – close friends even. The swordsman had joked about relationship things, like having sex, but the blond had always assumed he just did that to embarrass him. After all, the green haired man had said himself he wasn’t interested in Sanji. And now he _liked_ him?

 

That night, he couldn’t get to sleep, only thinking what the hell he should do about Zoro. All he could think of was not seeing the man anymore. But if he did that, could he stay friends with Ace and Luffy?

Fortunately, the next day he could busy himself with work, but when he got home, he got anxious again. It was around the time Zoro usually showed up. He let out the lights and immediately went for his bedroom, which wasn’t visible from the street. He didn’t have to wait long. After about fifteen minutes, the doorbell rang, but he stayed quietly on his bed. The doorbell rung a few more times before Zoro seemed to give up.

Sanji heaved a sigh of relief. He felt guilty, but he didn’t know what to say to the swordsman right now. At that moment, his phone started to vibrate. He cursed under his breath when he read ‘Marimo’ on the screen. Hesitant he picked up. “Yeah?”

“Curly, you’re not home?”

“Er, no. I­– I’m on a date actually.”

“Date?” Zoro asked like he never heard that word before.

“Yes, a date. That’s so hard to believe?” Sanji got a little annoyed.

“A little. Where did you meet this girl? It is a girl, right?”

He might imagined it, but did that last bit sounded a little hopeful? But, he decided, it was time for once and for all to make clear that the swordsman didn’t have a chance with him. Maybe then he just had to avoid the green haired man for a while and they could become friends for real after that. So he snapped: “Of course it’s a girl. I’m fucking straight!”

It stayed quiet for a while on the other end of the line. Then Zoro said: “Well, have fun. How about tomorrow?”

“I have to work late then.”

Silence again. “Just let me know when you’re free,” the swordsman said in a quiet voice.

“Sure. Later.” Sanji sighed and threw his phone on the bed. Guilt gnawed on his conscience, but what could he do? Zoro knew from the moment they met that the blond wasn’t into men. So he just had to get over it. And if Sanji had to avoid him for a while, then so be it.

* * *

Over the next couple of days, he made sure he worked late and he fell asleep right away when he came home. When one day Zeff sent him home early, he called Ace to see if the black haired man still was interested in him cooking. As it turned out, he was.

“Of course I still want to taste your cooking! I was afraid I missed my chance, since you came over when I was on a date. Which I am tonight as well, so could you cook for Marco and me both? Please?”

Sanji chuckled. “Sure, no problem.”

“Great,” the voice on the other end continued relieved. “Can you come to Marco’s house then? Otherwise Luffy will eat everything.”

* * *

When he rang the doorbell of Marco’s house, the arson inspector answered the door. Ace wasn’t there yet, apparently. Marco pointed him to the kitchen, where he started to unpack the ingredients he had brought. After that, he inspected the tools he had to work with. Despite being a man living alone, Marco had a fairly decent amount of kitchen utensils. Well, Nami had said the arson inspector was a relatively good cook.

While he got the utensils he needed, he noticed the other blond observing him. When he turned around, Marco said: “You look troubled.”

“Do I? Well, you could say I’m a bit stressed. You know, work stuff.” From the corner of his eye, the chef watched the other man. Marco seemed to consider his words, but then nodded.

Sanji turned back to his chopping board and started to cut a courgette in perfect equal slices. He didn’t lie to the arson inspector, he just omitted the part about Zoro.

The doorbell rang again. The cook heard the voice of Ace in the hallway and a few seconds later two strong arms wrapped around his waist. “Sanji!”

He froze.

Ace let go of him, looking at him curiously and a bit worried. “You okay, sexy?”

“Yeah. You just scared me.”

“You seem tired.”

“I haven’t slept well the last couple of nights.”

“Really? Sometimes I wish I couldn’t sleep. But then I would be a narcoleptic with insomnia.” Ace chuckled and Sanji decided to join in. “But shouldn’t you go to bed then instead of cooking for us?” the black haired man continued with a serious face.

“No!” The blond bit his lip, and quickly said: “I can’t sleep anyway, so I might as well make myself useful. Besides, I promised I’d cook for you, and now I have the time. Now, go enjoy your date.” He pushed both men out of the kitchen. Neither of them argued.

* * *

It was a few days later, a Sunday, and the first day Sanji had off in a while. In the last days, Zoro had texted him a couple of times, but he had always responded he had to work, and every time his answers became shorter. It seemed the swordsman had taken the hint, as he had stopped contacting him. But today the blond didn’t have an excuse not to hang out, so he dreaded the phone call.

When his phone rang however, it wasn’t the swordsman calling.

“Hey, Ace.” He tried to sound optimistic.

“Sanji! I wanted to thank you for the other night. The evening turned out to be great.”

After he had cleaned up the kitchen, Sanji had left Marco and Ace alone, though not without the two men trying to cheer him up despite it being their date. He had left before dessert, however, but he was glad the evening had been a success.

“I mean really great,” Ace continued. “If you know what I mean.”

“I don’t think I want to know.”

“We had sex.”

Sanji sighed. “Yeah, I got that. I’m glad my food was such an aphrodisiac,” he added sarcastically.

“Me too,” the freckled man said enthusiastic like he hadn’t noticed Sanji’s tone. “Anyway, as a thank-you I’m taking you to a spa. They have an amazing steam bath.”

“That’s nice of you, and I like you and Marco both, but I don’t think I want to sit in a steam bath with a couple,” the blond said carefully.

“Marco isn’t coming. Just you and me. What d’you say?”

* * *

About an hour later, the chef found himself outside the spa, waiting for Ace. He hadn’t needed much convincing in the end. A steam bath sounded really good, he needed to relax. And best of all, no Marimo, just him and Ace.

When the black haired man arrived, they went to change together. Wearing nothing but a towel, steam came their way when they opened the door of the steam bath. Still, not even the haze could hide the green head of hair that was sitting in the corner. Despite the heat, Sanji froze. “Marimo?”

The swordsman looked up. “Curly? Why are you here?”

“Hey Zoro, what a coincidence we meet you here,” Ace interrupted quickly.

“What do you mean? You invited me here.” The green haired man frowned.

“Oh? Silly me. Well, I have to go–”

But before the black haired man could leave the steam bath, Sanji grabbed him at the wrist. “Don’t you dare to leave,” the latter hissed.

The fireman looked a little surprised, but said reassuring: “Okay, I’ll stay.”

Sanji sat down as far as possible from the swordsman, the latter raising his eyebrows. Ace sat down between them and told Zoro about his last date with Marco.

“You really like this guy, don’t you?” Zoro asked.

Ace sighed, reminding Sanji of a teenage girl in love. “I do. He’s so mature.”

“And how’re things going with your girl?” The swordsman turned to Sanji.

“Huh? Oh, fine,” he said distracted. He was still figuring out how he could get out of there without looking suspicious.

“What’s her name?”

“Er…” Sanji was at a loss for words. Shit, why couldn’t he think of a girl’s name?

The green haired man gave a scornful laugh. “So Mr Gentleman can’t even remember a girl’s name?”

“I can too–”

“But you don’t know it, ‘cause she doesn’t exist. Right?”

Sanji lowered his eyes. He couldn’t meet Zoro’s penetrating look. He hated to lie, but he hated it even more to get caught when he did.

“Why would you lie?” the swordsman asked accusingly.

The blond clenched his fists. It was now or never. “Maybe because I don’t want to spend every night with you!” He tried to look everywhere but at the other man, because he couldn’t stand the hurt look on his face.

“Then why didn’t you say something?” the swordsman asked in a softer voice.

“’Cause I’m polite!”

“Since when is lying polite?”

“Since it apparently is the only thing to get through your thick skull.”

Zoro opened his mouth to respond, but Ace interfered: “Guys, guys! We’re here to relax, remember?”

“Then ask Curly-brow what got his panties in a twist,” Zoro mumbled.

Ace looked from him to Sanji and back. Then he said: “I don’t think he’s wearing anything underneath his towel.”

The blond clenched his teeth, but didn’t say anything. Why did Ace have to say that? He didn’t want Zoro to think about him, much less his naked body. His breath became more rapid, but the hot and moist air made him dizzy. Suddenly, the room seemed too small. “I gotta go,” he mumbled and ran out of the steam bath.

It wasn’t long before Ace followed him. “Sanji, what’s wrong? Are you ill?”

The blond took a few breaths to calm down. “I’m fine. I just… I can’t hang out with Zoro anymore.”

The fireman frowned. “Why not?”

Sanji told him how Luffy had told him the swordsman liked him. During his story, Ace kept silent. The chef had never seen the black haired man this serious before. “Anyway, I think it’s best not to see him for a while,” the blond concluded. “So I’m leaving.”

The fireman didn’t stop him.

* * *

Zoro looked up when Ace entered the steam bath again. “So? What’s up with Curly-Brow?”

“He knows,” his friend said in a sepulchral voice.

“He knows what?” the swordsman asked, brows furrowed.

The fireman sighed and sat down next to him. “He knows you like him.”

“What? Who the hell told him?!”

“Apparently, Luffy did.”

“I’m going to kill that kid,” Zoro said with clenched jaws.

“Calm down. You know he thought he was helping.” Ace looked at him sternly.

“I know,” the green haired man sighed. “But he ruined everything, purposely or not. I was just making progress with Sanji!”

The black haired man thought for a moment. Then he slapped on his knees, like he had a brilliant idea. “Don’t worry, okay? I’ll fix this. I promise.”


	11. Chapter 11

He hadn’t seen Zoro in a week, nor had he had the urge to see him. He still felt weird about it, the swordsman having a thing for him. Sure, he didn’t know how deep it went, he doubted the man was in love with him, and he knew he was handsome. But still. Zoro had touched him, massaged him, shared his bed… twice. Not to mention the indecent thing he did to him the night they met... Of course, Sanji didn’t know how long Zoro had feelings for him, but Luffy and Nami both knew, and he was pretty sure Ace meant to fix them up. Part of him felt betrayed that he was the last to find out.

Still, he hadn’t seen Luffy or the others either this week and he started to miss them. From hardly anyone in his life he had gone to many friends, and he had introduced Usopp to them. How would that work if he were to cut the swordsman out of his life?

And to be honest, he missed Zoro.

He yawned and got out of bed. It was Sunday again, his first day off that week and also the first free minutes he had to think. He was on his way to the bathroom when his phone rang. Frowning, he picked it up to see who was calling, since it was still pretty early. He took a relieved breath when he saw it wasn’t Zoro.

“Hey, Ace.”

“Morning, sexy.”

He sighed. “Not now, please. What’s up?”

“We’re all going to the beach today. Vivi’s got a beach house there and had kindly invited us. Wanna join in?”

“Who’s ‘we’?” the blond asked suspiciously.

“Well, everyone. There is me, of course, Marco, Luffy, Nami, Zoro–”

“I’m not going.”

“Aww, come on. Beach’s a big place, you don’t even have to see him. Not that I get why you wouldn’t want to, you guys were pretty close…”

Sanji sighed again. “You know perfectly well why I’m not going. Well, have fun.”

He was about to hang up, when Ace added quickly: “Well, that’s too bad. We need someone to handle the barbeque tonight and we were hoping you would.” He sighed dramatically. “I suppose I’ll have to do it then.”

Images of a burning beach house flashed before the chef’s eyes. After all, Ace couldn’t even handle a cooker without almost burning down the house… “Take a fire extinguisher with you.”

Ace snickered. “Will do. But I have to bring the girls the bad news. Did I tell you Robin’s coming too? She, Nami and Vivi went bikini shopping yesterday. They were really looking forward to show them to you, since you know how to appreciate a woman…”

Sanji froze. Ace was lying. He had to be. But what if he wasn’t? What if the girls really wanted to show their new swimwear to him? The rest of the men were barbarians, who didn’t know how to treat a lady. He did. He would complement them and be at their disposal, like he should be!

“Okay, I’ll come.”

“Great, we pick you up at noon.” And Ace hung up before he could change his mind.

* * *

The time he had before he would be picked up, he used by making salads as side dishes with the barbeque. He had just finished packing when he heard honking outside. He carried the dishes to the van and Franky helped him load them along with his stuff.

The van was already pretty full when Sanji climbed in. Unfortunately, the only seat available was next to Zoro. The chef gave him a nod in acknowledgement and sat down.

As soon as he climbed into the van, Usopp burst into laughter. “What the hell is up with your shirt?”

Sanji looked down to his pink flowered Hawaiian like shirt. “What of it?”

“It’s really ugly,” his friend snickered.

“Well, I can’t wear a suit to the beach, can I?”

“And this is the alternative?”

Sanji snorted. “It was a gift from the old geezer. I didn’t know you were such a fashion diva.”

“I’m not, but you are.”

Before the chef could response, Franky said from the driver’s seat: “Don’t listen to him, Sanji-bro. I think your shirt is SUPERR!”

“Thanks.” Finally, the cook had the time to look around the van. On the seats facing him sat Ace and Marco. The first had neglected to wear a shirt and on his head stood a bright orange cowboy like hat. He was leaning against his boyfriend, looking like a happy puppy. Marco seemed quite relaxed. Robin was in the passenger’s seat beside her husband.

Behind him were Usopp, Brook and a brown haired boy he didn’t know. Luffy and Nami sat across them. Luffy introduced the boy as Chopper – at least that was what they all called him – who lived next door to Zoro. Apparently, the swordsman had protected him against bullies very often. Chopper was seventeen and already in medical school.

“You’re really young to be a doctor. You must be pretty smart,” Sanji said shaking the boy’s hand.

“Shut up, you bastard! Your compliments don’t make me happy at all,” Chopper answered, doing something that could only be described as a happy-dance.

Sanji looked around, but judging by the reactions from the rest, this was normal behaviour. “Aren’t we going to pick up Vivi?” he asked Ace.

“She and her husband meet us at the beach house,” the fireman explained.

“And he’s okay with you coming?” Zoro joined in.

“I guess not, he doesn’t seem to like me. Then again, he doesn’t seem to like any man around Vivi, so it doesn’t really matter I’m her ex. Besides, Marco’s here and he’s cool with it. Right, handsome?”

The blond next to him raised an eyebrow. “As long as you behave yourself.”

Sanji smiled and shook his head when Ace pouted. The chef leaned back into his seat and chatted with the people in the car, trying to avoid looking at Zoro as much as possible.

It annoyed the swordsman how Sanji was evading his glance. Though he denied it when Ace accused him, he had tried to look his best today. He wore black trousers and a dark blue vest, showing off his muscles. Sanji obviously had neglected to dress himself well today, but on the beach, that hideous shirt would come off. For now, he just tried to get the chef’s attention, but the blond didn’t deign to look at him.

“Oi, Curly-brow.”

That the blond couldn’t ignore. He took a deep breath and looked at the man next to him. “What do you want, Zoro?”

The swordsman looked as if the chef had just slapped him in the face. “What did you call me?”

“Zoro.” Sanji cocked his eyebrow. “That’s you name, right?”

“Yeah… But I didn’t know you knew.” The green haired man reached into the blond’s pocket, earning an indignant: “Oi!” and got his phone. He opened the contact list and scrolled down. “See? Even in here you’ve listed me as ‘Marimo’.”

The chef yanked the phone out of his hand. “Well, then I’ll just have to correct that. How do you spell your last name again?”

Zoro smacked the cook’s hand holding the phone down. “Don’t!”

Sanji looked at him a little confused, but the swordsman’s intense glare made him put away his phone.

Ace looked from one to the other, but then said to break the tension: “Hey Marco, have you already told them how you made Zoro fall on his ass?” He snickered.

“You beat Zoro? But he is really strong!” In less than a second, Luffy squeezed himself in the opposite seat, almost squishing Chopper and causing Franky to yell to wear his “SUPER” seatbelt.

Marco smiled a little. “I practice aikido, which uses the opponent’s strength against himself. You don’t have to be strong for it.”

“Then I suppose one has to be either an aikidoka or a duck to beat Zoro,” Sanji snickered.

The swordsman cast him a deadly glance, though part of him was relieved the chef teased him again.

“That reminds me,” Marco continued to Zoro, “in my dojo I also train a kid’s class. I heard a children’s kendo class is looking for a teacher. If you’re interested.”

“How oddly fitting for you,” Ace smiled.

Zoro grinned back. “Sure, I’m interested,” he said to Marco. “Business is slow lately, so I have enough spare time.”

“It doesn’t pay a lot,” Marco warned him. “And it’s a class for six to eight years old, if you can put up with that. But if you like, I’ll recommend you.”

Zoro nodded happily and they exchanged phone numbers.

* * *

When they got out of the van, Vivi already came running towards them, a little slower followed by her husband. She greeted her friends and introduced herself to the people she hadn’t met. Last, she turned to Zoro and Sanji. The smile had disappeared from her face and she placed her hands on her hips. “I have a bone to pick with the two of you! How could you lie to me like that? Pretending to be in a relationship. I made a fool of myself!”

Sanji slapped on Zoro’s shoulder. “You never told her?”

“Don’t you think I’ll let you off the hook! I had to hear it from Ace. Well, what do you have to say for yourself?” Impatiently, she tapped her foot on the ground.

Sanji, always suave, gently got her hand and kissed it. “I’m very sorry, my princess. I was in Zoro’s debt and he asked me to do this. It’s all his idea, really.”

She flushed a little and looked at her cousin expectantly.

He sighed. “Look, it was just a show I put up for Perona, so she wouldn’t bother me.”

“You mean she still wants to put you in that bear suit? I thought she pulled that off already.”

“She knows?!” Sanji exclaimed. “I thought you only told me. Bastard, you made me embarrass myself by telling… a secret!”

The green haired man looked at him dryly. “I just said I destroyed all evidence.”

The blond looked like he was going to kick him, but Vivi interceded. “Still, you should have told me you weren’t dating. Don’t you trust me?”

Zoro sighed. “I’m sorry I lied. I won’t do it again. Sanji and I are not dating, never have.”

“And never will,” the chef added sharply.

The swordsman’s eye twitched a little, but he focussed on his cousin. “Are we cool?”

She thought for a moment, before a smile appeared on her face. “Sure. I can never stay mad at you, Mr Bushido.” She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him, before inviting everyone in her beach house.

Sanji put his hands in his pockets and strolled after his friends, when someone grabbed his arm. Brusquely, he turned around. “What now?”

Zoro looked at him darkly. “I know you know,” he said in a sepulchral voice.

The blond lowered his eyes and kept silent.

“Look, this is my problem and I’ll deal with it, okay? Just don’t get all weird on me.”

Finally, the blond looked up. “But it is weird. If you like me–”

“So what? It’s not like I’m gonna seduce you.”

A slight smile tugged on the corner of Sanji’s mouth. “I highly doubt that a brute like you could be so subtle as to seduce me.” It was the best peace offer he could give right now.

Zoro accepted it. “What did you call me, Nosebleed-kun?!”

“I had a nosebleed _once_ , Grass-head!”

Usopp and Franky were just unloading the boot and placed Zoro’s swords against the van. The swordsman grabbed his weapons and looked at Sanji defiantly. The blond lit up a cigarette and took a long draught.

Within a second Zoro was next to him and he barely had time to stop the razor sharp blades. The swordsman smirked. The blond gave him a kick against the chest, making him stumble back. Now it was Sanji’s turn to snicker. Their fight went all out, despite Usopp’s pleats for a peaceful day at the beach. The others came out of the house.

“Shouldn’t anyone stop them?” Vivi asked worried.

“Don’t worry, they do this all the time,” Nami said, shaking her head.

Hearing the voices of some of his favourite ladies, Sanji turned around, almost swooning when he saw they were wearing bikini’s. From the corner of his eye, he saw a flicker of sunlight reflect of one of the blades. He moved and the swords missed him barely. He smiled reassuring to Vivi, who had shrieked when she saw the weapons nearing the blond’s head.

“Would you two knock it off and help unload the van?” Nami demanded, hands on her well-shaped hips.

“Right away, Nami-swan!” The chef took over the salad dishes from Franky and brought them inside.

Usopp grabbed one of the bags, almost straining his back. “Who’s is this? What the heck is in it?” he moaned.

Zoro took over the bag without much difficulty and shrugged, “Just my weights, why?”

The architect looked at him with his mouth open. “Why would you– Oh, never mind!”

* * *

The green haired man was lying on his back, bench pressing a barbell and counting. Ace sat next to him looking bored. They worked out together often and the fireman acted as Zoro’s safety net, but the swordsman never needed him.

The black haired man stretched himself out in the sand. “So you and Sanji kissed and made up?” he asked his friend.

The barbell almost slipped out of his hand, but even though Ace immediately sat up, he managed to hold his grip on the weight. “Damn it Ace, now I lost count! One, two– Yes, I promised I wouldn’t go after him, if he stopped acting weird.”

“So, you’re not?”

Zoro watched Sanji remove his shirt and pants, revealing blue swimming trunks. “What do you mean?”

“Let me rephrase that. You like this guy, right? What do you want with him? Do you just want to fuck him or do you want him to be your boyfriend?”

“I want to fuck him, of course,” Zoro answered in a tone as if Ace had gone crazy. “You’ve seen him, right?”

The fireman lay back down again with a smile. “Of course I have. And if I wasn’t with Marco I would ask to join in.”

“He’s a keeper, eh? That arson inspector?”

Ace smiled again. “Yeah, I really like him. But you’re changing the subject. Fucking him is all you want?”

“Thirty three… Geez, you have one boyfriend after numerous one-nightstands, and now you’re lecturing me? And what does it matter what I want? Neither things are going to happen anyway,” Zoro snapped.

“They aren’t if you give up,” his friend mumbled.

Sharply, the swordsman sat up and threw his barbell to the side, almost hitting Usopp with it. “Ace, I swear, if you meddle with this…”

The fireman threw his hands in the air in a defensive gesture. “Easy, tiger. I’m not going to do anything.” Then he leaned in and whispered: “All I’m saying, someone has to make clear to him that a woman is not what he wants.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and then went over to Marco, giving his boyfriend a kiss.

Zoro scratched the back of his head and thought about Ace’s words. So the raven haired man thought Sanji wouldn’t be happy in a relationship with a woman as well. But how could he get through that thick scull of the blond?

He sighed and just watched what his friends were up to. A few yards away, Franky was dancing on music coming from a stereo, wearing his usual Hawaiian shirt, now in addition to a speedo. It almost hurt his eyes, so he looked away. Farther down the beach, Vivi and Kohza were playing with a flying disc. Usopp apparently had brought a metal detector with him, which was now being hogged by Nami. He desperately tried to pry it out of her hands and when that didn’t work he gave up sighing and just explained how it worked. Brook was seeking out the few clothed girls and requested to see their panties. Usually, it earned him a smack in the face or a beating up by their boyfriends. Chopper was reading a book and Marco was talking with Robin, Ace lying next to his boyfriend.

“Zoooooooooroooooooooooooo!” Luffy came running towards him, holding a bal. “Let’s play volleyball! You and I are team captains! Let’s see, I pick Ace and Sanji and–”

“Whoa, whoa!” Ace put his hand before his brother’s mouth. “I’m fine with playing, but you’ll have to pick in turn, to make the teams equal.”

The boy nodded, so the fireman lifted his hand. “Then I pick Ace,” Luffy grinned.

Zoro smirked. “My turn. Curly-brow.”

The blond lifted an eyebrow. “Who says I’m playing? I don’t even like volleyball.”

Luffy was about to protest, but Zoro lifted his hand, not taking his eyes of the chef. “I didn’t know you were too scared to play.”

“Scared?” Sanji snorted. “Who said I was scared? I just fear for our team with you as team captain.”

“Does that mean you’ll play?” Zoro couldn’t hide his grin.

“Whatever.”

Zoro nodded approvingly, ignoring Ace’s winks.

The black haired man turned to Marco. “Are you playing too?”

“Not now. You kids have fun.”

The fireman looked a bit disappointed, but didn’t press any further.

“That stupid woman, stealing my equipment.” Muttering insults Usopp walked by. When he noticed the ball, he asked. “What are you playing?”

“Beach-volleyball,” Luffy said with a huge grin.

“Volleyball, eh? Did I ever tell you I am volleyball champion?”

“Really?” Luffy’s eyes glistened with glee. “I pick Usopp!”

“I doubt we even need a third for our team,” Sanji whispered to Zoro.

The green haired man snickered and then turned his attention to Chopper, who was still reading. “Do you wanna play?”

The brown haired boy looked up surprised. “Really? You want me in you team? That doesn’t make happy at all, bastard!”

First, they agreed on the rules. Fortunately, Robin knew the official rules of beach-volleyball for some reason. They would play one set of twenty-one points. Every seven points they would change court, so no one would have an advantage from sun or wind. The set could only be won with a two-point advantage.

The teams took their positions. They asked Robin to be referee, because, according to Luffy, it was like she had eyes on all sides of her head. Sanji served first. Ace on the other side of the net passed it to Luffy, who spiked it back to the other side.

Zoro nodded to Sanji, who ran towards him. The green haired man had his hands joined before his stomach. The blond jumped on them and let himself be launched towards the ball. He hit it back to the other side, where it landed in the sand. Ace and Usopp stood with their mouths open and Luffy’s eyes shone in awe. Robin blew the whistle and pointed to Zoro’s team.

Snickering, Sanji and Zoro high-fived and looked at the other team. “Are we going to play or what?” the latter asked.

“When did you practice that move?” Ace asked, picking up the ball and throwing it back.

Sanji shrugged and served again.

The game became competitive. Zoro and Sanji’s teamwork was amazing and Chopper hardly had to do anything aside from serve from time to time, so he just cheered them on.

When the team of Zoro had twenty points against nineteen from Luffy’s, Nami suddenly shrieked. “Usopp, come quick! I found something.”

The architect sighed and shook his head. “Sorry guys.”

“Oi, we’re in the middle of a game!” Ace yelled after him.

“I know, but she’s scary. Good luck.”

Zoro snickered. “Wanna give up? We only need one more point before we win the game.”

“Marco! They’re beating us!” Ace whined and he pouted.

The arson inspector sighed. “Do you want me to fill in for Usopp?”

Ace nodded happily.

“If it’s okay with the referee.”

Robin thought for a second and then nodded. Marco took Usopp’s position.

Zoro snorted. “Whatever. There’s no way you can win anymore.”

Marco served. Zoro jumped onto Sanji’s leg and hit the ball back to the other field. It looked like it would hit the floor, but at the last moment Marco moved and passed the ball to Ace. The fire fighter launched it upwards. In less than a second, the arson inspector was with him and spiked the ball to the other field. It was like he was flying instead of running. Zoro and Sanji both went for the ball, but bumped into each other and both fell to the floor. The ball rolled in the sand.

Robin whistled and pointed to Luffy’s team.

“That’s twenty,” Ace pointed out.

Both men scrambled to their feet. “What the hell were you doing? I could have easily had that!” Sanji snapped to the green haired man.

“What the hell are you talking about? It was closer to me!”

They glared dangerously at each other.

“Ehm, guys? We’re starting again,” Ace warned them.

They cast each other a dark glare, but took their positions again.

The next ball Marco served, came straight for Chopper. With closed eyes, he launched for the ball and managed to hit it, but it didn’t went over the net. Instead of both going for the ball, neither Sanji or Zoro did anything – the first being distracted by a girl that walked past – until the ball fell in the sand again.

“That was so much closer to you!”

“Like hell, you should have had that!”

“Twenty-one for Luffy’s team now,” Robin said calmly. “If they score now, they win the match.”

They all stood ready and Marco served again. Sanji passed to Chopper and the young doctor to Zoro, who spiked the ball over the net. Ace stood ready, bumping to Luffy. The black haired boy nodded to Marco. The arson inspector launched forwards, smashing the ball over the net. Zoro, Sanji and Chopper all three ran towards it. They tripped over each other, tumbling down in a jumble of limbs. The ball fell down on the swordsman’s head and rolled to the ground.

Robin blew her whistle. “Team Luffy wins.”

The black haired boy laughed and his older brother launched himself on Marco, who stumbled a few paces back to brace the impact.

Chopper crawled up from underneath Zoro and Sanji, who were fighting again.

“What the hell, Moss-head?! I had it! You made us loose!”

“I’m the only one who touched it, Love-cook!”

“That’s just ‘cause your head is such an easy target.”

“Don’t get me started on easy targets, Dart-brow!”

Marco put Ace down and let him away by his hand. “Were are we going?” the freckled man asked chuckling.

The arson inspector smiled slightly. “I’m claiming my prize.”

* * *

Sanji strolled over the beach, looking at all the happy women running around. Despite the fact that there were enough lovely ladies to last a lifetime, he didn’t feel like flirting with them. Well actually, he just felt guilty doing it. Even though he had no feelings for Zoro and never would have, the chef wouldn’t like it if _his_ crush would flirt with others. Not that Zoro was lacking attention. He had taken up his barbell again, with some ridiculous heavy weight on it. The green haired man attracted much attention, both male and female.

Sanji walked up a sand dune. He wasn’t surprised Zoro was one to catch many eyes. The man had a body of a Greek god! And he was well tanned, a perfect beach body. Well, if you were into that. Next to the swordsman, the chef himself was rather pale, and skinny. When he had asked what Zoro’s type was, the swordsman hadn’t given much information, but even if Sanji fitted his type, the green haired man was bound to see someone he liked. The blond had no doubt that Zoro would find someone here to nail.

The chef stopped in his tracks. Was that all the green haired man wanted from him? With a friendship like theirs, Sanji would think he deserved better than that. But what then, a relationship?

He shook his head. Why was he even thinking about it? He didn’t care what Zoro wanted from him, if it was more than friendship, he wouldn’t get it anyway. Not from him.

He walked around another sand hill. Abruptly, he stopped. A few yards away from him he saw Marco standing, his swimming trunks around his ankles. His back was turned to the chef. At first Sanji assumed that he must be relieving himself – though the beach house wasn’t that far away. But then he saw someone kneeling in front of the arson inspector. The bright orange swimming trunks were easy to recognise. Ace tilted his head a little, his eyes closed and looking like what he had in his mouth right now was the best thing he ever tasted.

Sanji stood frozen. He knew he should leave, but his legs didn’t listen. Ace was giving Marco a blowjob. The arson inspector had his head thrown back and caressed the kneeling man’s hair. Involuntarily, Sanji’s thoughts drifted back to the night he met Zoro. He saw himself lying in front of that fireplace again, the swordsman doing the same thing to him as Ace was doing now to his boyfriend. Marco seemed to enjoy himself, just like he had… He had tried to convince himself Zoro had taken advantage of his vulnerable state, but in reality, he had enjoyed it. When the swordsman had his lips wrapped around his cock, the chef had never felt better. He had tried to push the memories away, but seeing Ace and Marco right now…

Suddenly, the fireman opened his eyes and for a moment Sanji thought he had been caught. But the freckled man continued his activity with equal enthusiasm.

Finally, his legs listened to him again. He turned around and ran back to the beach, his head spinning. He was embarrassed. Embarrassed about what Ace and Marco were doing, embarrassed he had caught them and embarrassed about what he was feeling. He was aroused. How could two men having oral sex turn him on like that?

He ran over the beach. Without stopping for anybody, he dove into the sea. Maybe the cold water could clear his head.

* * *

“Nine hundred seventy two, nine hundred seventy three… What do you want, Ace?” Zoro asked without interrupting his bench pressing.

“Just wondering if you’d seen Sanji.”

It sounded too innocently. He looked up to his friend, who looked back at him with what he probably thought was a look of an angel.

“I think he went for a swim,” the swordsman answered slowly, squinting his eyes suspiciously. “Why?”

“No reason.” A mischievous grin appeared on the raven haired man’s face. “I guess having a swim is logical. After all, it’s pretty hot out here…”


	12. Chapter 12

He had his eyes closed, but he wasn’t asleep. Not anymore. The sun warmed his body and he felt the sand beneath him. He didn’t have to open his eyes to know someone was watching him.

A sudden movement made him react. He grabbed the person observing him and threw them down, straddling them.

“What the fuck, Marimo?!”

He stared in the shocked face of Sanji. A lit cigarette was less than an inch away from the swordsman’s skin. He cocked his eyebrow, looking down on the chef. “Why were you staring at me?”

“I wasn’t staring. Now get the hell off me!”

Slowly he did as he was told, still a bit suspicious. The cook’s hair was still damp from the sea, but his body was dry, so he must have dried off. How long had he been watching?

Sanji sighed and sat down next to the place where Zoro had just been laying. His cheeks were red, but that might be from the sun.

“How’s the water?” the green haired man asked to break the silence.

“Fine.”

“Ace asked for you.”

The blond’s head snapped up. “H-he did?”

Zoro raised his eyebrow. “Why so surprised? Geez, he was acting weird as well, what the hell is going on?”

“Nothing.” Sanji took a drag from his cigarette, but his hands were shaking and he was avoiding eye contact.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to get weird on me anymore,” Zoro snorted.

“This isn’t about you! Not the whole world revolves around you, you know.”

The green haired man was surprised about Sanji’s sudden outburst. He examined the blond’s face closely, but the other man still didn’t want to look at him. Suddenly, it clicked in Zoro’s head. “You fucked with Ace!”

Finally, the cook looked at him, a mixture of surprise and disgust on his face. “How the hell did you come to that conclusion? Did the roots of that grass on your head affect your brain?”

“Then what?”

“Nothing! I… I can’t tell you.” Carefully, he looked up. The eyes of the swordsman looked worried. The blond sighed deeply. “All I can say is that Ace definitely did _not_ cheat on Marco.”

Slowly, his brain tried to register the information it had just gotten. And then it hit him. “No way! You saw them–”

“I’ve seen a lot of things I didn’t want to lately!” the chef interrupted him sharply. “So shut up about it!”

Zoro snickered, but after the deadly glare he got from the blond, he shut up about it. “Your shoulders are getting red. You should rub on some more sun lotion,” he changed the subject. He grabbed the bottle and squeezed some lotion on his hand. “Here, let me.”

“I can do it myself!”

“You can reach everywhere?”

“You’d be surprised.” But still he let Zoro rub the sun lotion on his shoulders. It wasn’t like anyone would be watching anyway.

He was wrong. A group of girls walked past, whispering and giggling and pointing in their direction. He wanted to scream it wasn’t what it looked like, when he heard Usopp laughing and say in a mocking tone: “So now you got Zoro to rub sun lotion on you? I bet you sounded just like Nami when she tried to get me to do it. ‘Ah Zoro, please rub lotion on my back’,” he said in a ridiculous high voice.

The blond tensed up immediately and got on his feet while throwing on his Hawaiian shirt. He scowled at his former roommate, who turned back to his sand castle, whistling innocently. The sand castle was beautiful, complete with a drawbridge and battlemented – Sanji had expect no less from the architect – but the blond was too pissed to complement his friend. In a huff, he sat down next to Zoro again.

The green haired man snorted. “I don’t get how you stuck it out with that guy for a year.”

The cook sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “He’s an okay guy, just a bit annoying sometimes. But he’s scared of me, so it never goes that far.”

“Still, you being an idiot love-cook, why didn’t you get a female roommate?”

Sanji looked at him. “Did you just insult me and then pry into my life?”

When Zoro shrugged, he sighed again and said: “I didn’t get a female roommate for the same reason I don’t date the waitresses and female chefs at the restaurant. It gets too complicated.”

“You mean when they dump your ass.”

Sanji scowled at him, but didn’t respond.

“That’s assuming they would even want to date you,” the swordsman continued teasing.

The blond gave him a sceptical look. “You’ve seen me.” He almost added: “Even you can’t resist me,” but decided against that. Zoro wouldn’t mention it, so neither would he.

“That still doesn’t explain why you picked _him_ , though,” the swordsman mused.

“Like I said, usually he’s okay,” Sanji sighed. “I needed a roommate to afford the rent. He was one of the few people I could get along with. What do you want me to say? I usually just don’t get along with guys.”

“You seem to do fine today.”

He took a puff from his cigarette. “You guys dragged my ass out here. It’s not like Ace gave me a choice.”

Zoro started laughing. “Well, that’s right. Once the D-brothers decide they like you, you can’t cut them out of your life anymore.”

“I can’t seem to get rid of you either.”

The green haired man looked up surprised. “And is that a good or a bad thing?”

The blond inhaled deeply and let the smoke escape slowly. “I’m not sure yet.”

Before the swordsman could respond, they heard a cry for help, sounding a lot like Luffy’s voice. Quickly, Sanji scanned the sea, where he just saw a hand disappear underwater. He didn’t waste a second and ran towards the water, not even bothering to take his shirt off again. Zoro stared after him in shock.

With large strokes, the blond swam to where he had seen the hand disappear and dove after the black haired boy. He couldn’t see a thing, so he had to trust his touch. It wasn’t long before he felt some fabric and pulled Luffy up.

The blond gasped for air, but the boy lay limp against him. The chef swam back to the beach and placed the teenager in the sand, the others surrounding him with worried expressions. Chopper ran up and down the beach screaming someone should get a doctor, until Zoro reminded him he was one.

Sanji lifted Luffy’s chin and placed his lips against his, blowing air into the boy’s lungs. The mouth-to-mouth resuscitation worked, after a few minutes the teen rolled to his side coughing and spat out some water. Sanji relaxed and leaned back panting.

Nami came running towards them and looked down on her boyfriend with a worried look on her face. “Are you okay?” When he nodded, she smacked him on the head. “Moron! You know you can’t swim. Why the hell would you go so deep into the water?”

“But I wanted to catch a fish, so Sanji could cook it for me,” the boy whined.

“We have brought enough food for the barbeque to feed an orphanage!” Franky commented.

“But I’m hungry now!”

Nami punched him again. “Stop whining and thank Sanji for saving your life.” She pushed his head down in a grateful gesture.

“Thank you, Sanji. Can you make me some meat?”

The blond started laughing. “You’re welcome. I should get started with the barbeque anyway.” When Luffy’s eyes started to sparkle, he added quickly: “But in the meantime, you have to behave.”

The teenager pouted a little, but nodded anyway. His face brightened when Zoro placed his – apparently – precious hat on his head.

Sanji straightened and dusted down his clothes, in a wasted effort to rid it of the wet sand that stuck to them. He looked up when he noticed someone standing before him.

Ace bowed. “Thank you for saving my brother.”

He couldn’t look the raven haired man in the eye, not without having a mental picture of what he witnessed earlier that afternoon. Ace, on his knees before Marco, pleasuring the arson inspector orally… He shook his head as if that would clear his mind and mumbled: “Sure. You’re welcome. I do wish I had some dry clothes,” he added a little louder.

“Kohza has brought some extra clothes,” Vivi said. “I’m sure you could barrow some, right honey?”

The man with glasses nodded and Sanji followed him towards the beach house.

Zoro helped Luffy get up and looked suspicious to the older brother, who was grinning mischievously. “What?”

The black haired man leaned in and whispered: “I was only thinking that you might wanna try to drown. Maybe then Sanji will give _you_ the kiss of life.” He winked and bounced away, before Zoro had a chance to kill him.

* * *

Sanji had barely placed the hamburgers on the barbeque, when a drooling Luffy stood next to him. “Smells so good,” the boy moaned, licking an ice cream.

“Go away. They’re not cooked yet,” Sanji said and kicked his friend when he almost slobbered on the meat. After a few more kicks, Luffy reluctantly walked away.

When the first burgers were done, the raven haired boy was the first to shove his plate under Sanji nose, and the second, as he whined he didn’t have enough. The blond kicked him away and served the girls first.

From the corner, Zoro watched the chef work. He had been one of the last to get food, but his meat didn’t show any sign of being overcooked, as expected. The blond had gotten new clothes from Kohza, a shirt and trousers. Only his Hawaiian shirt had gotten wet by the sea, but Luffy had admitted he had buried Sanji’s pants in the sand and couldn’t remember were. So Kohza had lend the furious cook trousers as well, after the last had kicked the shit out of Luffy.

The chef was now wearing slim, red pants, which looked oddly good on him, and a wide white shirt, which showed off most of his chest. Of course, this looked good on him as well. What the swordsman didn’t like though, was Ace who approached the blond with a large grin on his face.

“Hey sexy.”

Sanji almost jumped when the fireman suddenly showed up right behind him. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!”

Ace snickered. “Sorry.” Then his face turned serious. “Are you avoiding me?”

“Why would I do that?” the blond asked, focussing really hard on the sausages on the grill.

“You’re evading my glance right now.”

Reluctantly, Sanji looked his friend in the eye, his eyebrow twitching when the images came back.

“Good. Now, why are you so tense?”

Something in Ace’s look told him the man already knew why, but he was damned if he was going to admit he had been watching– no, accidentally walked in on a private moment. “I have to pee.”

The grin on Ace’s face grew wider – if possible. “Why didn’t you say so? I’ll watch the barbeque while you’re away.”

The offer was actually tempting. Sanji hadn’t lied, he really had to use the restroom. But to let Ace watch the barbeque? “Let’s not do that. I don’t want the headlines in the tomorrow’s paper to be: ‘Thirteen people die in fire from barbeque gone bad’,” he snorted and flipped the hamburgers.

“That’s so mean,” the other man pouted. “Come on, what’s the worst that could happen? You’re gone for like two minutes and there are a lot of people here. I’m a fireman, for Pete’s sake!”

Sanji sighed. “Fine. But don’t touch anything. The food shouldn’t be ready before I get back.” Ace saluted and the blond hurried inside. He knew he had made a mistake the moment he agreed.

And he was right. He barely had washed his hands, when he heard Nami shouting: “Get the fire extinguisher!”

Sanji ran outside, only to see a barbeque put out, carbonised meat, a guilty looking Ace and Marco holding the extinguisher. The blond could only stare, his mouth hanging open. He probably looked a lot like a goldfish right now.

“Before you say anything,” Ace started explaining, “I barely touched it–”

Something snapped in the cook’s head. “ _Barely_ touched it?” he asked almost inaudible. “Barely? I gave you _one_ instruction, for fuck’s sake! Do _not_ touch the barbeque! It’s that simple. You’ve wasted perfectly fine food. My God, it’s a miracle nobody has died with you around, isn’t it? No wonder people think you’re an arsonist!”

Halfway through his rant, Franky had grabbed the blond’s shoulder, to prevent him from attacking the fireman. The raven haired man himself stared in bewilderment at the furious chef, who had stopped yelling and was just panting with anger.

Sanji watched as Marco took Ace aside and whispered softly to him. The chef sighed and tried to get the barbeque started again. He felt stupid for exploding like that. Yes, he was annoyed, he always was when food was wasted and people ignored him, but he shouldn’t have yelled. He looked up and saw Marco and Ace kissing. He focussed on the barbeque again.

The atmosphere had gone tense after Sanji’s outburst. Usopp had stopped telling his tall stories Chopper believed and even Luffy had stopped nagging about more meat. But while Sanji tried to get the barbeque to work again, Brook got his violin and started a song called ‘Binks’ sake’, which everyone seemed to know. Soon, the tension was lifted and the atmosphere was relaxed and festive again.

* * *

Later that evening, Ace approached Sanji carefully. “Are you still mad?” the former asked in a soft voice.

The blond shook his head. “No. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have blown up like that.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m just a bit tense.”

“How long is it since you’ve gotten any?”

The question made his head snap up. “Excuse me?”

“Sex. That’s why you’re tense, right? ‘Cause you haven’t gotten laid in a while. You’re horny,” the freckled man added with a big smirk on his face.

Sanji could feel his cheeks burn in embarrassment. It had indeed been a while. The last time he slept with somebody was before Conis broke up with him, nearly two months ago. He sighed. Who was he kidding? The last time had been with Zoro. That made it sound even worse! It wasn’t like they made love in front of the fireplace, but the swordsman had relieved him. He didn’t know if the green haired man had told Ace – he prayed he didn’t – but he sure as hell wasn’t going to bring it up.

The fireman leaned in and whispered: “We both know there is someone here who is willing to fix that for you.”

Sanji clenched his jaw. “For the last time, I have no interest in Zoro!” He made sure his voice was hushed.

“Who said anything about Zoro?” Ace smiled mischievously and smacked the chef on his ass before hiding behind Marco.

* * *

Cooking for people with a large appetite like Luffy and Ace meant that the food was gone in record time and Zoro was well on his way to consume all the booze, though Kohza was well matched. The freckled man had fallen asleep face first on the table. Nobody had been surprised by this narcoleptic attack, as it happened quite often. Marco had carried his boyfriend inside the beach house.

Brook was playing songs on his violin and Usopp tried to scare Luffy and Chopper with his ghost stories while roasting marshmallows. The girls were catching up with each other.

Sipping from a bottle of rum – he had long ago stopped using a glass – the swordsman stared in the direction in which Sanji had disappeared about an half hour before. He wondered where the blond had gone off to on his own.

He took one last swing from the bottle and then threw it on the pile of other empty ones. He got up and walked towards the beach. Marco was the only one who seemed to notice him leave, but the arson inspector remained silent.

It wasn’t hard to find Sanji. The blond stood on the middle of the beach and stared at the sea. It didn’t look like he saw Zoro, when he suddenly said: “Are you following me, Marimo?”

“Just wanted to stretch my legs,” he lied.

The chef nodded, without looking at the swordsman. They stood in silence for a while, until Zoro said: “So what were you and Ace whispering about?”

Sanji jerked his head towards him. “That’s none of your business.”

“Fine.” The green haired man shrugged. “I’ll ask him when he wakes up.”

The blond clenched his jaw. “Alright. I just apologised for yelling at him and he made a suggestion of why I’m tense.”

“So why are you?”

“For starters because some boy genius has buried my pants, including my cigarettes,” the cook said, gritting his teeth.

“And for the rest?”

Sanji looked at him darkly. “You’re so nosy,” he snorted. “Ask Ace if you want to know. I’m not telling you.”

Actually, Zoro already had a hunch of what the fireman had suggested. He knew his friend and the fact that he had smacked Sanji on his ass was a dead giveaway. So he dropped the subject. Instead, he asked: “So why are you here?”

“For some peace and quiet.” The blond glared at him. “But it seems like I’m not getting that any time soon.”

“You know what you got yourself into when you came with us,” the swordsman smirked.

A smile appeared on the chef’s face. “I suppose that’s true.” He sighed and looked at the water again. “I do love the sea, though. It’s one of the few things I remember about my parents; they had a house at the sea. I think my father was a sailor or something.”

Zoro remained quiet while Sanji continued smiling: “When I was a kid, I wanted to become a pirate. Sail the seas, free as a bird.” He grinned as he recounted his childhood dreams.

“Like a ship’s cook?”

The chef laughed. “Probably, if I would want to combine the two. What would be the alternative? A bunch of rogue cooks running a floating restaurant? That would be something.” He thought for a moment. “I suppose that’s not far from the truth about the Baratie, though. Except the floating part.” He shook his head. “So what about you? What did you wanted to be when you were a kid?”

The swordsman smirked. “A pirate hunter.”

“Really?” Sanji laughed. “Well, it’s a good thing then that our dreams didn’t come true. Otherwise one of us wouldn’t be here.”

Zoro snickered. “And we both know who that would be.”

“Yeah, you.” They looked at each other shocked.

“Are you kiddin’ me?” Sanji snorted. “You can’t beat me!”

“You can’t defeat me either!” the green haired man shot back.

“You wouldn’t know what to do without those toothpicks of yours!”

Zoro looked at the man before him. His cheeks were flushed with anger. The wind had ruffled his hair and toyed with his shirt. The moon lit up his face, making him the most beautiful person the swordsman had ever seen. He lost his self-control. He grabbed the back of Sanji’s neck and smashed their lips together.

He expected to be kicked, but the blond just pushed him away. He looked composed, but his eyes betrayed anger. “You better be really drunk,” he spat to Zoro, before walking away.

The green haired man stared after him. “Not that drunk,” he mumbled.

 

It was very late when Sanji returned to the beach house. Earlier that evening they had decided to stay the night and get back to the city the next morning. Most of them didn’t have to work Monday morning, the rest would just come in late.

When the blond arrived at the house, most of his friends were already asleep. They had dispersed all over the floor of the living room, with an exception of Kohza and Vivi, who probably had gone to their bedroom. Nami and Robin occupied the couch, whilst the men lay sprawled out on the floor. Luffy was snoring loud and murmured something about meat in his sleep.

Sanji shook his head while looking for a place to sleep, when he saw Zoro laying on the floor. Chopper was using his stomach as a pillow.

 _That can’t be comfortable_ , Sanji thought, _with all those muscles…_ He froze. Why the hell was he thinking about the marimo’s abdomen?

Suddenly, he felt the urge to kick the man, an unexpected rage taking over. But he had hardly lifted his leg, when the swordsman’s eyes flung open. His dark orbs penetrated Sanji’s. His mouth went dry and slowly he put down his foot. How did the swordsman do it? How did he know every time Sanji was looking? Both times the blond had been convinced the man was asleep, but he couldn’t just _feel_ him staring, could he?

“Wake the boy and you’re dead,” Zoro said in a soft, but dangerous voice.

Sanji swallowed and turned brusquely around, lying down in a corner of the room. 

* * *

It was still early when the blond woke up. He never really slept in and today was no exception. Carefully not to wake anyone, he stepped over the sleeping bodies until he reached the kitchen. His pink shirt hung over the back of a chair. During the night it had dried, but as the pink clashed with Kohza’s trousers and his own were buried somewhere on the beach, he would have to remain wearing Vivi’s husband’s shirt. He would return it later, giving him a very good excuse to visit the blue haired girl again. Humming softly, he opened some cabinets and pulled out ingredients for breakfast.

The others woke about an hour later from the smell of fresh baked bread and coffee. Luffy was the first to smell it. His nose came up and he sniffled. With a loud “Food!” he jumped up and ran to the kitchen. Whoever wasn’t woken by the smell, was woken by Luffy’s jumping up and down.

Vivi came down the stairs yawning. “Sanji, you didn’t have to make breakfast,” she said pleasantly surprised.

“Good morning, princess. I assure you it’s no problem at all.” He wanted to kiss her hand, almost missing a certain black haired boy sneak towards the unattended food. He kicked Luffy away.

Zoro hauled himself on a chair by the dinner table. He looked up when a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice was placed in front of him. “Drink up,” Sanji ordered. “You can probably use some fluid.”

The swordsman nodded silently and took a sip. He wasn’t hung over– he never was – but it would probably be best to pretend he had had a little too much alcohol last night. That would prevent an awkward conversation about the kiss.

* * *

They had started to load the van. Vivi and Kohza would stay a little longer at the beach house, so they would travel back with the same group. This time Sanji managed to get a seat next to Usopp and opposite to Luffy and Nami. He couldn’t handle having to look at Marco and Ace – the happy couple – the whole time and he didn’t want to sit next to Zoro either.

Unfortunately for him, Usopp decided at the last moment that it probably would be a good idea to use the restroom before their ride home, so the architect got out of the van again and Luffy yelled to Zoro to join him. So Sanji ended up sitting next to the swordsman anyway.

After everyone had taken leave of Vivi and Kohza they finally drove away, being waved goodbye by the stay-behinds.

Usually, Sanji didn’t need much sleep, but the bumps in the road made the van rock to and fro and made him sleepy. Slowly, his eyelids fell close.

A bit surprised, Zoro looked down when the blond’s head lulled aside to the swordsman’s shoulder. He heard Nami snicker, making him very glad he faced the more naïve D-brother, instead of Ace and his suggestive glances.

* * *

 

A vibrating feeling woke him with a start. He was even more startled when he noticed he had fallen asleep – worse, he had used Zoro’s shoulder as a pillow. The blond mumbled some apologies, but the swordsman just shrugged and looked with curiosity how Sanji answered his phone.

“Old man.”

“Where the hell are you? You should have been here hours ago!” his adoptive father yelled in his ear.

“Calm down, shitty old fart! I texted you I would come by this afternoon!” he yelled back.

“I never agreed on that.”

Annoyed, the younger chef pinched the bridge of his nose. “Well, that’s too bad, because I’m not home yet. It’s at least an hour drive.”

They yelled some insults back and forth, but in the end, Sanji gave up. He agreed he would be there as soon as possible, at which Zeff grouched he should have been there already. With that, Sanji hung up the phone. “Franky, could you drop me off at the restaurant?” he asked the driver sighing.

“Sure, no problem, bro,” the blue haired man answered.

At the word ‘restaurant’ Luffy’s eyes started to shine. “Can we visit it? Please?”

The blond frowned. “It’s not done yet. You’ll be invited when it is.”

The black haired boy grinned broadly at that comment, but still insisted: “But I want to see it now. Please Sanji!” He pouted like only a D-brother could.

The cook sighed. “Whatever.” And suddenly it was decided they would all take a look at the new Baratie. Franky and Usopp already knew what it looked like of course and they didn’t work on Mondays, but resolved in tagging along anyway.

The restaurant ended up being pretty crowded for a place under construction. Zeff was already at the door when the van arrived, having a grumpy look on his face.

“Shitty old man,” Sanji greeted him. “I’ve brought some friends. These lovely ladies are Nami-swan and Robin-chwan. The rest are the idiots.”

The restaurant owner snorted in response to their greetings, but his face seemed to lit up a little when he noticed Zoro. “Grasshopper.”

The green haired man grinned back at him. He had a liking for Sanji’s foster father and the feeling seemed to be mutual. And it was a good thing to have a good relationship with your in-laws, wasn’t it? Well, father in-law to be, if things worked out right.

Sanji gave his friends a quick tour through the Baratie. There was still a lot of construction material around, but the place already started to look like a real restaurant. Proudly, Usopp explained his contribution, exaggerating for the most part, of course.

While the architect was telling his tall stories, Luffy pulled at Sanji’s sleeve. “Where do you keep the meat?”

He could have known that was what the boy was after. A mischievous smile appeared on the blond’s face. “In the freezer, of course.”

Exclaiming: “Yay!” the black haired boy ran into the walk-in deep freeze. With a small kick to the heavy door, Sanji closed the cold room, leaving Luffy puzzled behind. After all, the freezer was still empty.

“Shouldn’t you let him out?” Chopper’s voice sounded a bit worried.

“When he discovers there’s no food in there, he will probably notice the door handle on the inside,” the blond shrugged.

He was right. “There’s no food in here!” the muffled voice of Luffy sounded disappointed from the freezer. “And it’s so dark!”

“And cold?” Sanji asked teasing.

It stayed silent for a moment. “I guess,” the boy said then.

The blond shook his head, when the freezer door opened. Luffy came out grinning and indeed not looking cold. “Shishishi, there was a door handle on the inside,” he laughed. But then his face got all serious again. “Why is there no food?” he asked accusingly. “A restaurant should have food.”

“Look at this place! The construction work is not even done yet. Why on earth would we have food already?”

Luffy didn’t seem to understand his point, but Franky decided it was time to go. “I don’t want to spend my whole day off in the place I work.” And as he was their chauffeur, the others decided to go as well.

Ace leaned on Sanji’s shoulder. The blond flinched a little, the images of the previous day still hadn’t left him. “You’ll invite us all when it’s done, right?”

Sanji cast a glance to his adoptive father, who watched them with a grumpy look on his face and his arms folded across his chest. “Sure, but you’ll have to pay.”

Nami’s head snapped up at the word ‘pay’. Her eyes turned into pound-signs and she turned to Zeff. “Do you still need help in the kitchen? Like someone to do the dishes?”

“But Nami-swan! A delicate lady like yourself can’t possibly–” Sanji started to protest, but she dismissed him with a wave of her hand.

“Not for me. I’m a notary, remember? But Luffy is out of a job at the moment.” She looked at the restaurant owner expectantly.

Zeff observed the black haired boy from head to toe. Luffy looked uninterested and picked his nose. “I don’t think our former dishwasher-boy will come back.” The man plucked at his enormous moustache. “But you should check with my head chef.”

Nami turned to Sanji, who nodded. “Anything for you, Nami-swan!”

Zeff snorted. Apparently, he didn’t like it either when his son behaved like an idiot around women, Zoro noted.

The orange haired girl smiled triumphantly. “Good, that’s decided then. So tell me, how much is your employee discount…?”

 


	13. Chapter 13

On Wednesday, Sanji came over at Vivi’s place to return the borrowed clothes. He had washed them, of course, and as a thank-you for letting him borrow them, he had promised to cook a meal for the newly married couple. Vivi, the sweet angel she was, let him in smiling, looking like a true princess. He almost swooned, but pulled himself together when Kohza appeared in the hallway.

He had made pilaf with meat and dried fruit, knowing Vivi had Middle Eastern roots, and they chatted about all sorts of things. Sanji asked how the married life suited them. Vivi smiled, looking radiant, and grabbing her husband’s hand said she had never been happier. Kohza seemed to feel the same.

The chef couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. He hadn’t dated anyone since Conis and the closest he came to a relationship was with Zoro. He shivered, but kept smiling politely.

After dinner, Kohza had to go to a meeting of some animal rights group. Reluctantly, he left Sanji alone with his wife, but not after kissing her passionately.

Sanji made coffee – as he wouldn’t allow a beautiful woman like Vivi to do that as long as he was around – and they sat down on the couch together. The blond told her how things were at the restaurant and that the renovations were making progress.

“I’m glad. It must be nice to work with your friends,” she said smiling.

“Yeah, Franky and Usopp can be a bit goofy, but they’re passionate about their work. We wouldn’t have been this far without them,” he added.

“So, what about you? I know you’re passionate about your job as well, but… Are you passionate about _someone_?” She giggled adorably.

He flushed a little. “Vivi-chan! I… No, not really…” Not really? There wasn’t anyone he liked at the moment!

“Nami told me you broke up with your girlfriend a few weeks ago. How long were you two together? If you don’t mind me asking,” she added hastily, considerate as she was.

“Of course not, my princess! Conis and I dated for about three months.” It had been his longest relationship in quite some time. He had really started to fall for her, making the blow of their break-up even greater. But by now he had gotten over her, though he would get back together with his angel if she would ask.

“That’s a pretty long time. I’m sorry it didn’t work out. But…” She hesitated for a moment. “Ace seems to think you now have feelings for Zoro.”

Sanji’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance, not by Vivi of course, but because of Ace and his assumptions. Which weren’t even close to the truth! “I do not. Ace likes to think I do, and probably wants to get us together for some reason, but I do not like that green haired idiot. I know we pretended to have a relationship at your wedding – I’m so sorry for deceiving you, my beautiful flower! – but it was just acting. Nothing more.”

She stayed silent for a while and then said: “Well, you are a great actor. You really had me convinced.”

“You’re so kind, Vivi-chan!” he swooned. “Your compliments make my heart flutter!” It was probably for the best Kohza wasn’t home, hearing Sanji’s exclamations of love. Not that he would seriously hit on a married woman, though a part of him wished that he could have met Vivi before Kohza.

“That reminds me. Zoro told me you and Ace dated for a while. He doesn’t really seem to be your type.” He said it carefully, afraid to offend her.

She blushed a little, making his heart beat faster. “It was a short but… passionate relationship. I liked him the moment I saw him. He’s so handsome… But I noticed pretty soon after we started dating that he much rather would like to be with a man. But Ace and I stayed friends, even if Kohza isn’t much of a fan of that.”

“Well, it seems to have turned out good for everybody,” the chef said smiling. “You’re married now and Ace seems perfectly happy with Marco.” His face grew gloomy. After what he witnessed them do on Sunday, he’d almost say they were too happy.

* * *

On Friday morning, he received a text message and much to his surprise it came from Zoro. The swordsman asked him if he was still up for a spar session together. Sanji smiled. They did agree on doing that, before everything between them got all weird. But now things were fine again and he was pumped for a fight. So he texted back he would book a hall for that night, he didn’t have to work then anyway.

He received as an answer that Zoro would see him at the gym, but that he could still back out if he was afraid to get his ass handed to him.

‘ _How are you planning on doing that if I’m gonna kick you to pulp first?_ ’ he texted back.

‘ _I’d like to see you try, Curly._ ’

This hostile conversation lasted the entire day, much to Zeff’s annoyance, as every few minutes Sanji fumed and yelled obscenities at his phone. Still, after the younger chef told him it was the idiot marimo he was talking to, the restaurant owner backed off a little.

On the agreed time, the blond was standing in front of the sports centre and of course there was no sign of Zoro. He sighed and wondered how long he had to wait before calling the green haired man. Or filing a missing person report.

Fortunately, he was only standing there for several minutes when a panting swordsman stopped next to him. Still, he was too late and Sanji couldn’t resist rubbing it in. “Got lost again, Marimo?”

The man looked up, still trying to catch his breath. “What the hell? I went through this street like three times and now suddenly there is a gym?!”

“The gym was here the whole time, idiot. As was I,” the blond added accusingly.

The swordsman snorted. “If your knees are shaking with fear, you could have sat down, Curly.”

“Why the hell would I be scared?!”

Still yelling at each other, they went inside, receiving the key to the hall they had rented from a surprised and slightly frightened employee. In the men’s changing room Sanji started to unbutton his jacket.

Zoro, who was already wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, sighed deeply. “Seriously Cook, who the hell wears a _suit_ to the gym?”

“I still have to be seen in public on the way here, Moss-head. And unlike others, I care about how I look.” He eyed the other man in disdain. “Just go warm up already. I’ll be there in a sec.”

He was right, Zoro had just finished stretching when the blond entered the hall, wearing black sweatpants and a loose shirt. He smirked at the other man. “You’re so going to eat your words.”

“Bring it, Curly.”

“Give me a minute to warm up.”

Before Zoro could protest, the chef stretched out and slowly lowered himself to the splits. To warm up, he put his body in all kind of impossible positions, warming up Zoro as well – but not in the way intended. Finally, the blond got up and stood in a fighting stance.

Sanji wasn’t wearing any shoes and Zoro had brought his wooden swords, so they didn’t fight at full power. Still, they were equally matched and could go all out. At some point Sanji managed to kick one of the green haired man’s swords out of his hand. He didn’t give him a chance to get the weapon, but right away went for the others. Zoro let go of his swords and suddenly their fight turned into a wrestling match.

Somehow, Sanji ended up on top and pinned the green haired man down with his powerful legs. Both their faces were red and sweaty. “Told you I would make you eat your words,” the blond said panting.

“Who says you’ve won yet?” But unfortunately, a certain part of Zoro’s body didn’t mind this position at all. He tried to breathe normally and to get his body to listen to him, while praying Sanji wouldn’t notice. Not again.

Sanji, on the other hand, had his own problems to deal with. How did they end up like this? Their faces close together, both breathing heavily… His heart was suddenly beating fast and his face was flushed, and not from the exertion from just now. What the hell? Was he so deprived from human contact that he even enjoyed a man’s… no worse, _Zoro’s_ touch?! Something was very wrong with him.

A careful cough made his head snap up. A few feet away from them a gaunt man was standing, looking quite scared. “E-excuse me, sirs,” he stammered, “y-you booked this hall for one hour. It’s already fifteen minutes past… Other people want to use the hall as well…” The last few words were mumbled.

Sanji got up, just like Zoro and they exchanged a look. Together, they headed for the dressing room, the employee cringing in when the two men walked past him.

“It’s a good thing that employee came by. I was just about to kick your ass,” the green haired man said smirking, pulling his sweaty t-shirt over his head.

“Oh really? And would that be before or after you begged me to release you?” The blond tried to sound smug, but he couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable. Zoro was taking off his cloths without batting an eyelid… Of course he was! It was a changing room for crying out loud!

Still, he didn’t know if he wanted to shower with the swordsman. When he thought about the things he felt when he had the man pinned under him… He shook off those thoughts. He was straight, dammit, and he didn’t have feelings for that moss-head. He just needed to find a nice girl to go out with. That was all. He wanted a date and some physical contact if possible.

Deciding that was all it was, he followed Zoro into the showers. They weren’t the only ones there, causing Sanji to heave a sigh in relief. He turned on the shower and let the hot water run along his skin. When he turned around he saw the swordsman soaping his hair, he himself had forgotten to bring shampoo. Not that he would want to use Zoro’s cheap stuff, anyway.

“You need to scrub harder if you want the green to get out, Marimo,” he said teasing. The other man scowled at him.

Once again, he noticed the large diagonal scar running along the swordsman’s chest. He had seen it before, at the beach for one, but he never asked. “So, what’s with the scar?”

“It’s very inappropriate to stare at people in the shower,” Zoro said teasing, conveniently forgetting he had just been checking out Sanji’s naked ass. “Besides, which scar?”

The blond rolled his eyes. True, the man had more than one scar, but seriously? He needed to ask? “How about the one that looks like you have been cleaved in half?!” he snorted.

Zoro looked down to his chest, as if he had never noticed the enormous scar before. “Oh, that.”

They walked out of the showers together. The green haired man grabbed his towel and started drying off, while he began his story: “It happened two years ago when I was in Japan. I was entering a kendo tournament – _the_ kendo tournament, I should say, only the best enter there. I was so close on winning, when I entered the finale, a fight against the best swordsman in the world, Dracule Mihawk.” His eyebrow twitched at that.

“And he sliced you up?!” Sanji asked disbelieving. Surely, there would be some safety rules with tournaments like that?

“Of course not! Well, actually he did, but not _during_ the tournament.”

The blond gaped at him.

Irritated, Zoro combed with his hand through his hair. “Would you just let me tell the story? Anyway, I lost, but in the tournament, we weren’t allowed to use real swords. I figured I could win when I did use real ones, so I sought out Mihawk. _Then_ he sliced me up.”

Sanji shook his head in disbelief. “You could have died! Didn’t he care about that?”

“He’s the head of some drugs organisation, so probably not,” Zoro shrugged. “I was young and naïve, of course I still have to train more and get stronger. And when I do,” a grin crept up his face, “I’ll challenge him again and become the best swordsman in the world!”

Sanji snorted. “You’re such an idiot.” But deep down he respected the man for his dream. After all, his own was just as impossible. He shook his head again and continued drying himself off, something he ceased to do during Zoro’s story.

The green haired man watched from the corner of his eye how a strong pale leg disappeared into a tight, black trouser leg and sighed. He needed to get laid, and soon.

* * *

They walked out of the sports centre together, Sanji lighting up a cigarette. He inhaled deeply the nicotine into his lungs, before turning to Zoro. “Aside for me kicking your ass, it was nice to spar with you. Since you’re _almost_ as good as I am.”

The swordsman snorted. “Like I said, you were lucky our time was up. I was just getting warmed up.”

It had started to rain and much to the chef’s surprise Zoro had thought about bringing an umbrella, unlike the cook himself. Exchanging insults, they walked home under the umbrella – or actually, Sanji was silently leading Zoro to his own home, to prevent having to look for a lost marimo later. They passed a grocery shop when the blond remembered he was now finishing his last cigarette. “Oi, I’m going to buy a new package of these,” he held up his cigarette, “I’ll be right back.”

The green haired man sighed dramatically. “Fine.”

“If you don’t want to wait, you can go on ahead,” the chef said a little disappointed. He actually enjoyed walking home together with the marimo. Not that he would tell him that, of course.

“Just hurry up, Love-cook.” Zoro folded in his umbrella and stood under the lean-to. Sanji entered the grocery, a ring of a small bell welcoming him. The grocer was an old man with a friendly face, who was probably just happy to have a customer. Fortunately, he had Sanji’s brand of cigarettes, but in the stockroom, so the old man had to go to the back. It took him forever to return.

Sighing, Sanji pinched the bridge of his nose. Usually, he didn’t mind waiting, but now Zoro was standing outside. Well, whatever, the swordsman could come into the shop if he wanted.

Sanji looked up, debating whether or not to tell his friend it was going to take a while, when he saw through the shop-window that Zoro was talking to someone. Two persons to be exact. One was a tanned, slim man with a goatee and a white hat with black dots. The other guy was more pale, but muscular and had bright red hair and black painted lips. His clothes looked punk or whatever. The blond cocked an eyebrow when he noticed the green haired man’s posture. He could only see his back, but the man was definitely tense. He knew that pose: Zoro was talking to an ex.

Finally, the old man came back and Sanji hasted himself to pay. With a quick thanks he rushed out the door.

“Okay, let’s go,” he said to Zoro, like he hadn’t seen the other two men. He hadn’t really thought about a plan, but the swordsman was obviously uncomfortable around these men, his ex and the new boyfriend. His eyes flicked to the tanned man. Yeah, he could see the swordsman dating a guy like that. He grabbed Zoro’s hand and looked at the dark man challenging.

“So you’re into skinny blonds now?”

Surprisingly, the words didn’t come from the sleep deprived looking slim man, but from the redhead. Sanji’s head snapped towards Zoro, who was still staring at their hands like it was an unknown animal species. When he noticed the blond looking, he shrugged, but looked a little guilty as well.

The chef turned to the pale, muscular man. “Who’re you callin’ skinny, No-brows?”

The face of the red haired man darkened. “What did you call me? I’ll break you like a twig!” He pulled a dagger out of his belt, previously hidden by his long coat, and lashed out.

Sanji let go of Zoro’s hand and dove underneath the redhead’s arm, kicking him in the stomach. The other man stumbled back, surprise written all over his face. The green haired man stood dumbfounded, because Sanji a) had held his hand, b) had just picked a fight with Eustass Kid, one of the most violent persons he knew, and c) seemed to be winning.

The tanned slender guy started to laugh. “It seems like you’re being beaten by that skinny blond, Mister Eustass.”

Kid looked at his boyfriend pissed and lashed out again to Sanji. This time, he managed to graze the blond’s side. Now it was Sanji’s turn to be pissed off. He let his hands fall back, while throwing up his legs, kicking Kid in the jaw.

“Bastard,” the redhead hissed, holding his cheek.

“Lemme see.” The tanned man pushed his boyfriend’s hand aside. “Doesn’t look too bad. You need to put some ice on it, though.”

“Right after I kill this son of a bitch.” He jerked his head towards Sanji, who had lit a new cigarette.

His boyfriend shrugged. “Weren’t we going to do something else?”

Kid hesitated. Whatever it was that they were going to do — and unfortunately, Sanji had a pretty good idea what that would be – beat trying to kill him. The redhead put away his knife and let his boyfriend drag him away, meanwhile threatening Sanji he would get him later.

Sanji snorted and took a long drag. Zoro finally came out of his trance. “You’re bleeding!”

“It’s nothing.” Through the shop-window, he saw the old grocer holding a phone and looking outside. “Fuck, he’s calling the cops. Come on!” He grabbed the swordsman’s arm and dragged him along.

When they were a safe distance from the grocery, Zoro exclaimed: “What the hell, Cook?”

Sanji said nothing, just took another drag from his cigarette. The green haired man shook his head. They were close to his home and before the blond could protest, he pulled him inside. “Take off your shirt while I get the first-aid kit.”

“I told you, it’s fine,” the chef protested. “It’s just a scratch.”

Zoro ignored him and walked to the bathroom. When he got back, he was holding the first-aid box. Sanji had reluctantly unbuttoned his shirt and was now fingering the hole in the fabric. Great, his shirt was ruined.

“Care to explain?”

The cook was caught off guard by that question. “Explain what?” he mumbled.

“Start off with the hand holding.”

He sighed and scratched the back of his neck. “When I saw those guys, I knew one of them was your ex – and by the way, what the hell? The redhead?”

Now it was Zoro’s turn to look a little embarrassed. “Yeah, so?”

“Are you kiddin’ me? Together you look like a fucking Christmas tree!”

The swordsman shot him with a questioning look.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Whatever. Anyway, despite the fact that I put my money on the wrong guy, I was right about one being your ex. So if he was showing off his new boyfriend, so should you.”

“But you’re not–”

“Of course I’m not your boyfriend, shit-for-a-brain! But _he_ doesn’t know that.” He sighed. “I didn’t think it through. But apparently you didn’t either if you dated this guy.”

Zoro knelt down and applied disinfectant on the blond’s wound, making him hiss in pain. “I wouldn’t call it dating, per se…”

Sanji raised an eyebrow.

“It was just sex,” the green haired man shrugged.

“Seriously? Do you ever date anyone?”

“Sure I do,” the other man replied offended. “Just not Ace and Kid.”

The chef rolled his eyes. “Okay, then tell me what ended this fairytale relationship.”

A mischievous smile appeared on his face. “Neither of us wanted to be bottom.”

“Bottom of what–?” A flush crept on his cheeks when the meaning of his words got through to him.

Zoro smirked. Then he got bandages out of the first-aid box, before he continued: “Besides, we wouldn’t go well together anyway.”

“Tell me about it,” the blond mumbled.

“By the way, of all people you shouldn’t judge someone’s eyebrows, Curly-brow.”

He looked down in the smirking face of the swordsman. He snorted. “Then you should stay clear of the hair department, Moss-head.”

Something was wrong here. Their insults were like usual, but there was something wrong with the atmosphere. Zoro was bandaging his wound, his rough and calloused hands gentle and careful. His skin tingled under the swordsman’s touch. Man, this was bad!

The green haired man took a bit of distance to admire his work. “Perhaps I should let Chopper have a look at it,” he said thoughtfully.

“No!” Shaken from his thoughts, he realised he had to leave as soon as possible, before these feelings turned into something. “It’s fine, really. If you can get cleaved in half and live, I should be able to survive this.” Muttering something about checking the restaurant, he ran out of the apartment as quickly as he could, leaving behind Zoro dumbfounded.

* * *

He let himself fall on the couch groaning. What was happening to him? He had better taste than to like Zoro? _Zoro_ , for crying out loud! The annoying, stubborn, arrogant marimo, which whom he could get along surprisingly well.

He shook his head violently, as if that would rid it of those thoughts. No, he did not have any feelings for the swordsman, none whatsoever! He just needed a girlfriend, that’s all. Someone to kiss and touch and care for. He needed to meet a nice girl.

But where to start? He was still busy with the restaurant and his friends – and in particular, the marimo – absorbed a lot of his time. He wouldn’t ask out an employee. Where did he usually meet girls? In bars, sure, but he didn’t feel like going out.

Suddenly, he had an idea. He got his phone from his pocket and scrolled through his contact list.

“I only gave you this number for emergencies,” Nami greeted him.

“I know, Nami-swan, and I’m really sorry to bother you, but this is an emergency,” he pleaded. “Sorta.”

She sighed. “Okay, what’s the matter?”

“I need a date.”

It stayed silent on the other end of the line. He probably caught her off guard. Finally, she said: “Look, Sanji-kun, as you know I’m dating Luffy and–”

“No, no, no!” he hastily interrupted her, immediately apologizing for it. “I mean, could you please set me up with one of your girlfriends? Please, I’m desperate!”

“If you just want to get laid–”

“Oh God, no!” He really needed to be careful that interrupting a lady wouldn’t become his habit. “I would never! I’m looking for a girlfriend.”

“Hey, Sanji!” the voice of Luffy suddenly sounded. He probably had diddled the phone out of her hand, the brute! “Girlfriend? But what about you and–”

He heard a smack, Nami had hit her boyfriend well-deserved. “Sorry about that,” her lovely voice sounded.

“No problem, Melorine~!”

“I think I can help you with your problem,” she continued. He wanted to thank her, but she cut his compliments short. “There’s a girl at my work. I’m sure you will make a lovely couple.”

If he didn’t know any better he would think her voice sounded mischievous. He shrugged off that thought. What could possibly be her motive for that?

* * *

A few days later, he was sitting in a restaurant, waiting for his date. Normally, he would have taken her to the Baratie, but that wasn’t an option right now. So he settled for the next best place in town.

Nami had told him the girl from her work would be wearing a pink dress. She had showed her friend a photo of Sanji, so the blond didn’t have a dress code.

To be honest, he was a bit nervous. It was months ago since he had had a first date. He mentally smacked himself on the head. Nervous? He was Sanji Prince! Women adored him!

“Sanji?” a lovely voice behind him asked.

He almost jumped, but immediately recovered and became his old charming self. He rose and turned around, standing face to face to the most lovely creature he had ever laid eyes on. The girl had long, dark blue hair, wearing a pink dress and thick black glasses. “I’m Porche.”

He bowed, kissing her hand. “It’s an honour to meet you, my darling. My name is Sanji.” The blond pulled back a chair for her, admiring her slim figure. He sat down and studied her. Now that he had a closer look, he noticed her brilliant blue eyes behind the spectacle lenses.

The waiter came and he ordered a bottle of whine for the table while they looked at the menu. The blond told her he was a chef and they were currently rebuilding the restaurant he worked at. After that, he let her talk.

And she did a lot of talking. Mostly about her cats. She had seven of them – she named them all, but after the third Sanji lost count. Apparently, they were super cute – he couldn’t hear the word ‘super’ without thinking of Franky anymore. When the main course arrived, she was still talking about them.

The chef tried to listen – he really did! And he liked cats as much as the next guy, sure, but to listen about someone going on and on about them? He blinked his eyes when she started a new anecdote about her pets. He tried to bring the conversation to another subject, but Porche had a talent on always coming back to her cats.

They ordered desert. The girl looked at him and played with her hair, fluttering her eyelashes a little too often. Crap, why did he have to be such a good listener? Or pretending to be one, anyway. He could practically hear Zoro snort and ask him why on earth he would date this woman.

What the hell was wrong with him? Ladies were meant to be worshipped!

It felt like he got a split personality or something. One that reminded him how lucky he was to be even near a wonderful creature like Porche, his usual inner voice. But the other, which sounded an awfully lot like Zoro’s voice, kept telling him how boring this was and how he would rather hang out with the swordsman – yes, he was definitely going crazy.

He did notice, however, that Porche wasn’t aiming to get just his attention. Before the coffee arrived, she excused herself and walked to the ladies’ room, swaying her hips, earning her the interest of nearly every man in the restaurant.

After Sanji had paid the check – of course, he was a gentleman – they left the restaurant together. “Where have you parked your car?” he asked.

“I’ve walked here.”

He looked at her surprised, amazed she could walk at all in heels like hers, and then offered her a ride home. He opened the car door for her. Her house wasn’t that far, otherwise she would have probably driven to the restaurant.

“Nami says you’re an amazing chef,” she suddenly said.

That surprised him, as hardly a word out of her mouth had been about anything else than her cats. “I am. I hope you will come by the restaurant after it’s finished.”

She pouted a little, so he hasted himself to add: “But in the meantime I would love to make you dinner sometime.”

She smiled, that was probably what she had been after. He stopped the car, as they had arrived at her place, and he walked her to the door.

“Do you want to come in?” she asked, fluttering her eyelids.

‘Hell, no,’ Zoro’s voice said inside his head. ‘And being jumped by seven cats? No, thank you.’

‘You’re so rude! Never reject a lady’s invitation,’ the other voice opposed.

Seriously, if he was going to see a little angel and a devil – Zoro being the devil, of course – on his shoulders he would report himself to the first mad-house.

He pushed both voices aside and thought about Porche’s proposal for a moment. He didn’t know what this lovely girl’s plan was, but being invited in usually meant sex. It would probably be best to take things slow. Maybe on their next date, because there would definitely be one, dammit! Because he liked girls, and now this girl in particular. Take that, Moss-head!

“It’s probably best to call it a night. I have to get up early tomorrow morning.” It wasn’t even a lie. “Rain check, okay?”

She looked a bit disappointed, but nodded anyway. He kissed her cheek. “Good night.” He was sure to make his voice sound low and seductive. It worked, he heard her gasp.

With a triumphant smirk, he walked back to his car. If she hadn’t want him earlier, she would definitely want him now. He still had it.

* * *

At home, he picked up his phone, as he had promised to call Nami to tell how things went.

“Sanji-kun, you’re home early,” she teased.

“I’m taking things slow. I told you I wasn’t looking for a one-night stand?”

It stayed silent for a moment. “Wait, you mean you _like_ her?!” It almost sounded like a shriek.

“I–” What should he say? He couldn’t insult a lady, but he also couldn’t lie to another one. “Like is a bit strong. I mean she’s annoying–” He immediately covered his mouth with his hand. It was one thing to _think_ that, but now that he heard himself say it…. What the hell was wrong with him?

“My my! Did the lady-loving Sanji just tell me he finds a girl _annoying_?” Nami’s voice almost sounded triumphant.

“No! No, I didn’t! Please forgive me, Nami-swan! I didn’t mean it!” he tried to talk himself out of it.

The orange haired woman sighed. “Stop babbling already. I think she’s annoying as well. That’s why– Never mind,” she interrupted herself. “Just tell me this, and be honest. Do you want another date with her?”

Sanji had never felt more miserable in his life. “No,” he whispered softly.

“Okay, then don’t.”

“Please don’t tell her what I said! I don’t know what came over me!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make up an excuse for you.” It stayed silent for a moment before she said evilly: “I’ll tell her you just found out you’re gay.” And she hung up before he could respond.


	14. Chapter 14

He was still cursing himself for talking bad about a lady when the doorbell rang. Wondering who it could be, as it was already pretty late, the blond hoisted himself off the couch and strolled to the door.

Much to his surprise, it was Zoro whom was standing on his doorstep. “What the hell are you doing here?” the chef asked, their usual greeting.

“I heard your date didn’t go well.”

Sanji froze for a second, but then snorted. “Then you heard wrong. The date went amazing. She even invited me into her house.”

“Then why are you back already?”

“Because, unlike you, I don’t have a roll in the sack with the first person I see,” he snapped.

“Oh, really?” The swordsman had an unsettling grin on his face. “Because I heard you found her annoying.”

He froze again. How the hell did he know that? “Wha– How?” he stammered unintelligently.

“I was at Nami’s when you called.”

Sanji groaned and slammed his head against the door. This was it. His life was over. Zoro would never let this rest!

“I thought you could use a drink.” Zoro held up a crate of beer.

The blond stared at him surprised. The swordsman wasn’t here to rub it in? He mentally slapped himself. Of course he was, he just would drink at the same time. Still, getting drunk sounded very tempting, so he stepped aside to let the green haired man pass.

Zoro let himself fall on the couch in what was close on being his second home. Sanji sat next to him, having grabbed a bottle opener.

“You wanna talk about it?” the swordsman asked, while handing his friend a beer.

The chef groaned. “No, I rather just forget about it.” But the booze loosened his tongue and after his second bottle he burst out: “It’s just because I haven’t dated in such a long time, right? And because I’m surrounded by men all the time. Can you forget how to date? Or is it like riding a bicycle?”

The swordsman listened to Sanji’s rant, laughing silently. The blond was pretty upset with insulting a woman, while he talked like a sailor when it came to him!

Four beers later Sanji started to feel the effects of the alcohol. He was getting woozy, glad he was sitting on the couch. Zoro must have had twice as much already, but still wasn’t showing any sign of tipsiness, the annoying bastard. He tried to count the empty beer bottles, but they kept doubling before his eyes, so he gave up.

“You know what’s weird?” he said musing, while accepting another beer from the swordsman. “I may have called Porche annoying, but you’re like ten times as annoying and still I’m drinking beer with you!”

Zoro started to laugh. “Yeah, you’re weird.” He received a lazy kick in the side.

“That’s not what I said.”

The crate of beer was getting empty. The green haired man still wasn’t bothered by the alcohol, but Sanji was drunk already. If the swordsman hadn’t noticed it before from his flushed cheeks, he knew it when the blond crawled onto his lap and straddled him. He raised an eyebrow when the cook studied his face. “What?”

“Just wonderin’.”

“About what?”

“Why someone like you would like me.”

That caught him off guard. “Someone like me?”

“Yeah, you know, being all Greek god-like.”

Zoro snorted. “Weren’t you the one that said I have an ugly mug?”

“Yes, but…” Sanji’s cheeks turned a shade darker. “But I could see why some people would call you handsome.”

Now it was Zoro’s turn to flush a little. Did the blond just call him handsome? And why was he looking – dare he think it – cute?

Before he knew what was going on, Sanji pulled his head forward and pressed their lips together. It only lasted a few seconds, leaving Zoro breathless and flabbergasted. “What the hell?” he stammered.

The blond shrugged. “Just wanted to see what it was like.”

“We’ve kissed before.” The words came out before he realised it.

“I know, but at Vivi-chan’s wedding I had to pretend I liked it and at the beach you caught me off guard. So I still didn’t know if _I_ liked it,” Sanji said blandly.

Zoro frowned, but suddenly he got an idea. While drunk, he could take a little advantage of the blond, right? “I wasn’t expecting it now.”

The chef looked at him confused.

“How am I supposed to know what it’s like when you caught me off guard just now?”

Fortunately, to Sanji’s drunken mind, this actually made sense. “You’re ready now?” When the swordsman nodded, he leaned in again and pressed their lips together for the second time that night. This time Zoro made sure it lasted longer by wrapping his arms around the cook’s waist and holding him. The other man didn’t protest, until the swordsman tried to use his tongue. At this, the blond pulled back and slit off Zoro’s lap. “No French kissing.”

“I thought you liked everything about France,” the green haired man said teasing.

“I do. But I don’t like _you_.”

The swordsman snickered. “Oh, really? Tell me the verdict then. How do I kiss?”

Sanji thought for a moment. “You’re a pretty good kisser, I guess.”

“So you do like kissing me, then.” He leaned in. “Y’know what else I’m good at?”

“Sword fighting,” came the immediate response.

Zoro grunted a bit annoyed. “Yes, of course, but that’s not what I was aiming at.”

“Being an ass.”

The green haired man face palmed. But then he made sure his voice was low and seductive when he said: “Actually, it has more to do with _your_ ass.”

The chef looked up, cheeks still flushed – by the alcohol or embarrassment, Zoro didn’t know – and his blue eyes shining. For now, the swordsman couldn’t care less about the consequences and he leaned in again.

Their kiss became passionate. Zoro let his hands roam the cook’s slender body. To his surprise, the blond moaned into their kiss. So he was actually liking this? Or was it just the alcohol and dry spell he was going through?

Suddenly, Sanji pulled back a little, though not as much as Zoro would have expected. “Marimo,” he said in a small voice, “please don’t take this personal.”

“Take what person–” Before he could finish his sentence, the blond pushed him off him and ran up the stairs, slamming a door shut.

Zoro sighed and closed his eyes. So the chef had really drunk too much tonight. There was only one reason why he would run like that, and that was to reach the bathroom in time. Wasn’t that a mood killer. Sighing again, he stood up and collected the empty beer bottles. It was a good thing Sanji told him not to take it personal. Otherwise, he probably should do something about his breath.

* * *

The next morning, he woke up with a foul taste in his mouth and a headache. Groaning, he sat up. What happened last night? He must have drank a lot, otherwise he wouldn’t feel this lousy.

 _That’s right, Zoro came by with beer_. Lots of beer. Why again? Because he had called a girl annoying. The humiliation made him want to crawl under the covers and die. How could he have done that?

Sighing, he got up. He’d rather stay in bed all day, but the only reasons Zeff would accept for not showing up was being dead or dying, and even dying was a tricky one.

On his way to the bathroom, a memory from the night suddenly flashed through his brain. Him sitting on Zoro’s lap, leaning forward… _Oh shit_. They’d kissed?! Or was this a dream his still slightly numb brain confused with reality? He didn’t know which one was better.

Reluctantly, he looked in the mirror. He looked like hell. His hair was a mess, his complexion even paler than usual and his eyes were bloodshot. Groaning, he pushed aside the shower curtain. While the water ran down his body, more of the previous night came back to him, making it undeniably memories and not a dream. He remembered how Zoro had laid on top of him, kissing him and making him moan. Despite the low temperature he had put the water on to wake up, his cheeks heated up. What the hell was happening to him? First he was on a date with a lovely girl, whom does nothing for him, only to come home and jump the first guy he meets? No, not any man. Zoro.

Was he actually starting to like the marimo?

* * *

He took a deep breath before starting on another length. Swimming helped him to clear his head. He hadn’t slept all night, thanks to a certain drunk cook. He still couldn’t believe they actually made out for real, sort of. After all, Sanji had been pretty wasted.

When he had noticed that sleeping wouldn’t be an option, he had tried working out by lifting weights. After all, he never needed Ace’s assistance as a back-up – were he to drop the weights – even though he knew his friend would be happy to help him out, even at three in the morning. He would get an encouraging speech to go for Sanji as a bonus, no doubt.

At a certain point, he had lost count, so he decided to go for a run. Of course, like always the streets changed while he wasn’t looking, so he ended up – not being lost! – running for a couple of hours. By the time he got to his house again, it was seven in the morning. He remembered the swimming pool opened at that hour. He should be exhausted already, but he wasn’t, courtesy to his sexual frustration. So he started on his one hundred and fifty three length.

Why had the cook kissed him? Sure, the blond’s excuse had been that he wanted to see what it was like – but what exactly? Kissing a guy or kissing him? And didn’t drunk people do things they secretly wanted to do when they were sober, but were stopped by their inhibitions or whatever? Did that mean Sanji wanted to kiss him soberly too? It were thoughts like these that drove the swordsman mad. Why couldn’t the chef just make a decision and stick with that?

Growing bored with swimming, Zoro hoisted himself out of the water. Still dripping, he walked to his towel. He got quite a few stares, both female and male. He could probably pick a random admirer to sleep with – a man of course – to finally end his dry spell that started after that blond came into his life. He was getting tired of waiting for the chef. He didn’t even know why he started in the first place, after all, Sanji had made clear on their first encounter he wasn’t into men. And later spelled it out for him again, because Luffy couldn’t keep his big mouth shut.

But somehow, the swordsman couldn’t bring himself to sleep with someone else, let alone date. Something inside him told him that he needed to be patient, that Sanji would come around. After all, dating girls didn’t seem to work for the blond anymore, he had proven that last night. Smiling, he remembered the chef’s words: ‘ _You’re like ten times as annoying and still I’m drinking beer with you!_ ’

And of course, he had admitted he thought Zoro was a good kisser.

Sighing, he made his way to the showers. Was he kidding himself in thinking that Sanji was bi? Ace sure thought so, but well, the fireman thought everybody was, or at least should be. While the warm water sprayed on his skin, he made a decision. He would give the blond one more chance. If he gave rise to Zoro into thinking he might like the swordsman, soberly of course, the green haired man would jump to the occasion. If not, this was over.

* * *

“So are you excited?”

Sanji leaned with his head on his hand, completely lost in thoughts. “Eh, what?”

Usopp looked at him, a little annoyed. “You could at least pretend to listen. I asked if you were excited. Only two weeks until the grand opening.”

“Hell yeah, I’m excited.” A grin broke through on his face. “Finally, I can do what I love, instead of being an errant boy. Still,” musing he looked around, “are you sure you will be finished in time?”

“Don’t worry, Sanji-bro.” Franky just came by carrying a pile of tiles. “In two weeks time this place will be SUPER-ready.” He gave the thumbs up. “Usopp-bro, you on your break?”

“No, Mr Franky.” Quickly, the architect jumped up and ran back to his bucket of paint, leaving Sanji grinning behind.

The blond was just about to take a smoke break, when he heard the door open. “I’m sorry, we’re not open ye–” he started, choking on his own sentence. The person that had entered was one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen. She was slender, a little pale and was wearing a yellow dress. Shyly, she brushed a blond pluck of hair behind her ear.

As fast as he could Sanji made his way over to her, kissed her hand and led her to the table he was just sitting at. “Please, how can I help you, Ms…?”

“Kaya?”

The girl looked up at hearing Usopp’s voice. “Usopp?” she asked disbelieving.

The architect dropped the bottle he was holding and ran towards the table. “What are you doing here, Kaya?”

She stared at the table and didn’t respond. Frowning, Sanji looked from one to the other. Obviously, these two knew each other. It didn’t feel like they had dated, though. Less awkward. Still, the silence was a little unsettling. Only then he noticed the paper she was holding in her hand. “Are you here for a job as waitress?” he asked friendly.

She looked up, finally making eye contact with her beautiful brown eyes. Almost invisibly, she nodded.

“Why would you want to be a waitress?” Usopp asked. “You’re loaded!”

She hid her face in her hands. The architect’s face grew gloomy. “Franky, I’ll take my break now.”

The contractor, who had been working nearby and had overheard the conversation, nodded and got back to work.

“What has happened to make a beautiful angel like yourself so sad?” Sanji asked, offering her a handkerchief. Usopp gave him a look that was obviously intended to kill him. The chef shrugged. It wasn’t his fault he was smooth when it came to ladies.

Kaya wiped her tears away and swallowed before she started: “I inherited a lot of money when my parents died. But soon after you went away to college, Usopp, the man who was supposed to take care of me, Klahadore, threatened to kill me if I didn’t give him the money. I fled.” She sniffled.

Usopp hit with his fist on the table. “I told you that guy was bad news! Why didn’t you come to me?” he asked in a gentler voice, one Sanji hadn’t heard him use before.

Kaya looked at the table again. “I was ashamed. You tried to warn me and I called you a liar…”

Sanji snorted. She wasn’t the first.

“But I’m still trying to become a doctor,” the blond girl continued more optimistic.

“That’s great! But why haven’t you gone to the police?” Usopp asked.

Embarrassed she played with her hair. “I’m scared…”

“Leave it to me! I’ll help you,” the dark haired man suddenly said confidently. “First by getting you a job. Sanji, she can be a waitress, right?”

The cook almost started to laugh. Was this the same man who was afraid of his own shadow? But of course, he wouldn’t let a lady down. “Of course you can be a waitress, my beautiful–”

Suddenly, a familiar stab of pain went through his head. Zeff placed his peg leg back on the floor. “I’ll be the judge of that.”

“You can let me handle the waitresses, shitty old fart!” Sanji lashed out.

“No, you are an idiot around women. Come with me, girl.”

Kaya looked at Usopp a little frightened, but after he gave her a nod, she followed Zeff to his office.

The architect looked after the girl and sighed. Sanji tapped on the table thoughtfully. “So, how do you know such an attractive girl?” he asked.

A nostalgic smile appeared on Usopp’s face. “I met her when we were kids. She was very sick then, and it got worse when her parents died. I came to her window every day, trying to cheer her up by telling the adventures of the brave Captain Usopp,” he told proudly. Then his face grew gloomy again. “But I never trusted her butler, Klahadore. When I told her, she got mad and refused to talk to me again. That’s when I went to college.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe I left her with that creep.”

Despite the depressing nature of the story, Sanji had to smile. “You’re so smitten,” he said teasing.

“Am not!” But the blush on his friend’s face told him otherwise.

“Yeah, you are.” The blond got up. “I’m gonna smoke now. And you should get back to work before Franky kicks your ass ‘SUPER’.”

* * *

The back ally was deserted aside from some trashcans. Sanji lit up a cigarette and sighed contently when the smoke hit his lungs. With the drama surrounding Kaya, he hadn’t had the time to think about his own problem. Now, sitting alone in the ally, thoughts about a certain green haired swordsman entered his head again.

After his date with Porche, he had realised that the feelings he might have for the marimo weren’t there because he lacked physical contact. If that were the case, he would have gone on a second date. But what was it then? Maybe it was something he needed to get out of his system? His mind probably had the feelings for love and hate reversed.

“So we meet again, blondie.”

His head snapped up at hearing the voice. Before him stood the red haired man he had met a few days before. He snorted. “What, you followed me?”

“No, this is just a happy coincidence. Fortunately, I’m always prepared.” Kid flung his long coat back so Sanji could see his knife. He took a drag from his cigarette unimpressed. “Look, I wasn’t scared of you then and I ain’t now. So put that shitty knife away and tell me what this is really about. You jealous?”

Kid started laughing, sounding almost maniacal. “Jealous? Of what? That you have Roronoa? Please. I was just as interested in talking to him as he was in talking to me. Unfortunately, I told Law about our days in college, so the bastard dragged me along.”

“You sound like a lovely couple,” Sanji said sarcastically. “So we’re done here?”

“Almost.” A very unsettling smirk appeared on Kid’s face. “I promised I would bring back a souvenir.” In a blink of an eye, he had drawn the knife.

“Exploding star!”

Out of nowhere, something exploded near Kid. The red head stumbled back a few paces, covering his eyes.

“It’s a good thing he had no eyebrows to begin with,” Sanji mumbled, but he was wise enough not to say it out loud.

“Damn it! As soon as I get my vision back, you’re dead, blondie! Dead!” Kid shouted, pointing in the completely wrong direction and taking to his heels.

The chef smirked and turned around. Usopp was standing in the doorway, holding something that looked suspiciously like a slingshot. Sanji put out his cigarette against the wall and strolled back inside. “You always carry that around?” he asked mocking. He turned around to see if the door was properly closed, as it only opened from the inside. He didn’t need a furious Kid messing up the restaurant. He smiled lightly. Not that Zeff or Franky would let him get that far.

“I wanted to practice shooting after work and the munitions I make myself. And you’re welcome, by the way!” Usopp added pouting.

“I could have handled it.” He turned his head back, walking. “But thanks anyway, I guess.”

“So who’s that guy? Why was he trying to kill you? And is it true what he said?”

Sanji stopped in his tracks, causing Usopp to slam into him. “Just how long were you standing there?” he asked suspiciously.

“I-I happened to overhear some of your conversation. I wasn’t eavesdropping! But is it true?” his friend pressed. “But why did he say ‘that you have Roronoa’? It almost sounds like you are dating.” His eyes went wide. “No way! You guys are dating?!”

The chef looked at him darkly, before saying curtly: “No.”

“But he said–”

Annoyed, Sanji pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, he’s like Zoro’s ex or something. We met him a few days ago when we came back from the gym – Marimo and I had trained together. And I may have given him the impression that we’re dating, but we’re not, understand?”

“Okay. But just so you know, it’s okay–”

Before the architect could finish his sentence, Sanji had pinned him against the wall, pressing the sole of his shoe in Usopp’s throat. “I. Am. Not. Gay,” he said slowly and dangerously.

The other man gulped and nodded.

Lucky for him, at that moment the door of Zeff’s office opened and Kaya came out. Sanji quickly placed his foot back on the floor and made his way over to her. “How did it go, my flower?”

She waited until Usopp had joined them before answering smiling: “I got hired.”

“I knew you would. After all, Zeff does anything I ask,” the dark haired man said smugly.

Kaya giggled and Sanji rolled his eyes.

“Do you have a place to stay?” Usopp continued in a more serious tone.

Looking to the floor, the girl shook her head. Ignoring his natural instinct to offer up his house, the chef nodded to his friend encouragingly. A little shyly, the architect said: “You can stay with me if you like.” And then more confidently: “And we’ll figure this out together.”

He barely finished his sentence before Kaya threw herself at him, Usopp flushing and turning a few shades darker when Sanji smirked at him.

Shaking his head, the blond returned to work. It wouldn’t be long before those two were dating, he was sure of it.

* * *

Sanji bent down to get the puff pastry snacks he had made out of the oven. Somehow, Luffy had convinced him to come over to play games, even though Zoro was there too. Fortunately, the swordsman hadn’t made any comment about his drunken kiss – yet. Nami had made some teasing remarks regarding his terrible words towards Porche, but he couldn’t be mad at her. And much to his relief, Luffy hadn’t made any remarks that Zoro and Sanji should date or something – probably mainly because the blond kept stuffing him with food. He couldn’t have that right now, not with his confused feelings.

“Need some help?”

He almost dropped the baking tray when he recognised the low voice. Shit, he had been avoiding being alone with the green haired man. Maybe he wouldn’t mention the kiss, he prayed. Maybe he thought Sanji was too drunk to remember anything… He wished he had been.

“Nah, it’s fine,” he answered as casually as possible. He hoped Zoro would leave, but instead the swordsman moved towards the fridge. Of course, the drunkard needed more booze. He added that in his head to this list of things he didn’t like about Zoro, which were surprisingly few. Shit.

He could feel the green haired man staring at him. Damn that tension. He had to do something about it. “So your ex tried to kill me again today,” he said like he was talking about the weather.

Zoro frowned. “Kid? What, he’s following you?”

The blond shrugged. “He said it was a coincidence. I don’t know. But apparently he wanted a souvenir for his boyfriend or whatever.”

“What kind of souvenir?” the swordsman asked suspiciously.

“How the hell should I know? A body part of mine, for sure,” the chef snapped, suddenly irritated.

“Which bo–” The green haired man stopped talking abruptly, that was probably not the best question to ask right now. “Well, you better be careful.” Without thinking, he smacked Sanji’s ass.

For a second, the blond froze, before turning around briskly. “Did you just grope me?!”

Zoro just smirked.

Sanji placed the snacks on a plate and returned to the living room, shoving the swordsman on purpose on the way. The green haired man snorted, but followed him.

The blond took his place at the table again, where a game of Monopoly laid out. He hated the game, but they played at Nami’s request and of course, he couldn’t deny her anything. So he had persuaded the others into playing, which meant he had kicked them until they gave in. Nami was exceptionally good at this game, to be expected of her. The guys were almost bankrupt, which no one minded because that meant the game would be over soon.

“Oh, by the way, starting today we have a new waitress,” Sanji told as he kicked Luffy away from the snacks, to serve first Nami and then Chopper, who also had joined in on their game night. The little doctor-to-be looked very tired as he had just finished his exams and could very much use a break from his studies.

“Is she cute?” Nami asked.

“Definitely. She’s so beautiful!” Sanji swooned.

Zoro gritted his teeth. That did it. The blond was still hung up on girls. He would just have to find someone to fuck and get this all over with.

“But she’s annoying?” The red head had a teasing smile on her face.

Sanji immediately shut up and flushed. “N-no, Nami-swan. She’s really sweet. But,” he continued in a serious voice, “apparently, she’s a childhood friend of Usopp. And he’s head over heels with her.” He couldn’t help but smirk.

At that, Zoro’s ears picked up. He knew Sanji was loyal to death to his friends. So if Usopp liked her, he wouldn’t ask her out. And if he remembered correctly, the blond had a policy of not dating the staff. On the other hand, that didn’t mean he didn’t like her. Man, this was complicated.

The chef turned to Chopper. “She studies medicine as well, so maybe you know her. Her name is Kaya.”

“Yes, I know her,” the boy chirped. “She’s a year higher than me, but she’s really nice. She has helped me with my homework a few times.”

“Then you should stay good friends with Usopp,” Sanji said teasing. “I’m pretty sure she likes him too.”

Chopper smiled brightly. “I hope so. And Usopp promised to take me to a movie soon.”

Zoro couldn’t remember seeing the young boy this happy in a long time. Ever since he started medical school, he was only busy studying and was always tired. Chopper had always had trouble making friends, most boys his age thought he was weird. More than once Zoro had found the boy crying because he was being picked at. So he was glad Usopp took care of Chopper.

Sanji looked at the swordsman, his heart skipping a beat. The way Zoro looked at Chopper, so adoringly, like a proud big brother, made him want to jump the man. He knew the swordsman had a sweet and protective side, especially when it came to the doctor-to-be, and he couldn’t help but wish Zoro would show that side to him. Not that he needed protection, of course. Just maybe a pair of strong arms around him – and what the hell was he thinking?!

“I need a smoke,” he mumbled and made his way out of the house as quickly as he could without showing he was in a hurry.

The swordsman looked after him. The chef had been his normal self all night, fawning over women. At first, he thought maybe Sanji hid his feelings because they had company, but even when they were alone in the kitchen the cook hadn’t said or done anything that remotely indicated he remembered the kiss. Zoro had hoped smacking his ass would lure out a reaction, like blushing or any other sign. But nothing had happened. So that was it then. He was done being driven crazy by the fickle cook.

* * *

Inhaling the soothing nicotine, Sanji calmed down again. Damn, what did Zoro do to him? Was he gay? No, he definitely still liked women. But did that mean he was bi, or did he just confuse his close friendship with the marimo with – dare he think it – love?

A car pulling up on the driveway made him look up and Marco stepped out on the driver’s side. After nodding to the chef, he made his way to the other door and lifted out a snoring Ace.

Sanji couldn’t help but snicker, probably a lot of dates ended up in Marco bringing his sleeping boyfriend home. “Ya need some help?”

“Could you please open the door?”

The chef nodded and did as the other blond requested. The arson inspector walked inside, carrying Ace bridal style upstairs.

Sanji looked after the two. Both of them were handsome in their own way, and of Ace he was sure the freckled man even got stared after by the straightest of men, but neither did anything for the chef. So it was Zoro or no one, hm?

Finally, he could admit to himself he was attracted to the swordsman in some way. It was like someone had taken a weight off his shoulders. But it didn’t answer the question of _what_ he wanted with the green haired man. A relationship? Sex?

Of that last part, he had only vaguely an idea of how two men would do it and frankly, it didn’t sound appealing at all. Maybe he should first do some research before…

The chef smiled. Yes, he finally made a decision.


	15. Chapter 15

Zoro heard the door open and someone heading upstairs, only to come down again a few minutes later. “Hey, Marco,” Nami called out, counting her Monopoly money.

The arson inspector appeared in the doorway. “Evening. I put Ace to bed.”

The green haired man burst into laughter. “He fell asleep during the movie again?”

Marco nodded, though he didn’t seem irritated. And that while, according to Luffy, it had happened a few times already in the short time that they were dating that Ace fell asleep right in the middle of it. The raven haired man couldn’t help it, though, and Marco seemed to understand that.

“You want a beer?” he asked but the arson inspector shook his head.

“No thanks. I have an early day tomorrow. Good night.”

Making his way inside again, Sanji bumped into the other blond. He said goodbye to him before entering the living room again. “It seems Ace couldn’t stay awake,” he said snickering.

“They’re so funny,” Luffy grinned, while cleaning with his tongue the plate that had been stocked with snacks a few minutes ago.

Sanji shook his head. “Anyway, I think I’m going to follow Marco’s example.”

“But you can’t leave,” Nami protested. “I haven’t cleared you out– I mean, nobody has won yet.” She gestured to the Monopoly board.

“It’s not like anyone else but you can win anymore.” Zoro slid his small pile of remaining money towards the girl. “Besides, this game blows anyway.”

She made a happy shriek upon seeing the money, but snorted at his words. “You only say that because you suck. But I suppose it is bedtime anyway. Come on, Luffy.”

“Ah, but I don’t wanna,” the boy whined.

“Geez, what are you, his mother?” the green haired man supported his friend.

Nami placed her hand on the table and looked at the swordsman treating. “Are you sure you wanna meddle in this, Mr ‘I still owe Nami five hundred and forty two bucks’?”

Zoro winced and shut up, making Sanji snicker.

So the red head dragged her still whining boyfriend upstairs at his ear.

The blond turned to Chopper, who was yawning. “Do you need a ride home?”

The boy nodded happily and hopped off his chair to get his coat. Before Sanji could ask Zoro the same question, they heard someone tear down the stairs. The front door was yanked open and slammed shut, before Ace came rushing into the living room. “Damn, did Marco leave already?”

The swordsman nodded. “He said something about having to get up early tomorrow.”

The fire fighter pouted. “Crap, and I just was in the mood to– Oh, hey Chopper.”

The doctor-to-be smiled and Sanji was kind of glad the boy was here. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the ending to that sentence. “We were just leaving as well. Marimo, you need a ride too?”

The green haired man looked at the blond. “There’s still beer.”

The chef rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Later, Ace. Come on, Chopper.” Followed by the brown haired boy he left the house, somehow a little relieved the swordsman didn’t join them. He had no idea what to say to the man now that he was sure he liked him.

“What was that?” Ace asked after the two had left.

Zoro made a questioning sound while drinking his beer.

The raven haired man sighed like he couldn’t believe he had to elaborate. “Could that have been a more obvious innuendo? ‘You need a ride, sexy?’,” he said in a voice that sounded nothing like Sanji’s.

The green haired man stared blackly at his friend. “He didn’t mean it like that. Besides, I’m done with him.”

“What do you mean, ‘I’m done’?”

“I mean– Ouch!” Before he could finish his sentence, Ace’s fist landed in his stomach. He knew that the blow wasn’t as nearly as hard as the freckled man could – the guys from Ace’s boxing club didn’t call him Firefist for nothing – but still he winced.

“I know what you mean,” his friend snapped. “But I won’t allow it!”

Zoro rubbed the painful spot. “What the hell, man?! You don’t have any saying in this! Sanji isn’t into men, and there is nothing you can do about it. Geez, just ‘cause you have a boyfriend doesn’t mean you can meddle in my love life!”

Ace snorted. “I _always_ meddle in your love life. And you know just as well as I do that our chef isn’t going to be happy with a girl, as he has shown on his last date. Didn’t you tell me that? Along with how you two made out?” he added with a grin.

Zoro groaned. It was true. As he made his way home, he walked past the fire station – though he couldn’t remember that was supposed to be on his route – and excited as he was, he ended up telling Ace, who had a late shift, everything. He regretted it already.

“Look, he was really drunk,” he tried.

“So that means deep down he wants to kiss you soberly as well. Zoro, you almost have him! He only needs the last little push. You can’t give up now! Look, I’d help you, but Marco doesn’t want to share me, so a threesome is out of the question, let alone adding a fourth person.” He grinned sheepishly. “I wouldn’t mind though.”

The green haired man thought about Ace’s words for a moment. They actually made sense, aside for the last ones, of course. Maybe the chef only needed a few more days… He jumped up. “Alright. I’ll do it.”

“That’s the spirit! Now, go get that nice piece of ass!” Excitedly, Ace smacked with his flat hand on Zoro’s butt.

The swordsman glared at him dangerously. “Don’t ever do that again!”

The freckled man grinned. “Sorry, got a bit over excited. You want another beer?”

* * *

Hesitantly, Sanji stood before the little bookstore, debating whether or not to go in. He wanted to know more about what it would be like to be with a man. Of course, the easiest – and least embarrassing – solution would be to look it up on the internet. But he had grown up without a computer – as they were according to Zeff “shitty, good-for-nothing things that only made life more complicated”. Personally, Sanji had nothing against computers, he just never felt the need to buy one. And going to an internet café to look up the things he wanted to know…

So internet wasn’t an option. He could rent an adult film, but he doubted he would be ready to see two men in ‘action’, so to speak. So he had to find out the old fashion way, by consulting a book.

Of course, he could go to a large bookstore to be more anonymous, but that felt like betraying Shanks – even if it was porn he was buying. He always bought his books here. Plus, in the little bookstore he wouldn’t have to worry about someone breathing down his neck, as there usually weren’t any other customers.

Cutting the knot, he took a deep breath and opened the door. As usual, the little bell greeted him.

Shanks was standing behind the counter, grinning broadly. “Well, well. Long time no see. You really like to keep me waiting, don’t you?”

“Sorry, I’ve been busy lately,” the blond apologised absentmindedly. He glanced around the bookstore. Usually, he only paid attention to the cookbook section. Would there be…

“Are you looking for something?” Shanks interrupted his trail of thought.

He could already feel a blush creeping up his face. “I was just wondering… Do you… Do you perhaps have…” he stammered. Dammit, he couldn’t even say it.

Fortunately, Shanks apparently could read his mind. He smiled friendly. “In the back, through the curtain.”

He mumbled thanks, but then turned around again. “D-does that include…?”

“Everything I have is in the back.” The red haired man winked at him, making him feel even more embarrassed. It was a good thing they were the only two persons in the store.

Blushing deeply – and still not quite believing he was actually doing this – Sanji made his way to the back of the store. Surely enough, he hit upon a curtain and going through it, it was like he landed up another store entirely. Everywhere he looked he saw pictures of scantily dressed people, each wearing less than the one before. And there was something for everybody, surely. Cheeks red with embarrassment, he tried to find what he was looking for without glancing around too much, silently thankful he would need his reading glasses to read the – no doubt – disturbing titles. His eyes lingered on a manga of two men going at it. Quickly, he averted his look. He wasn’t ready to see _that_. He decided that he didn’t need pictures, just lecture was enough for now. Blindly, he fetched a book. Much to his relief it was just what he was looking for: a story about two men, ‘getting together’, and no pictures.

Having found what he needed, he hastened himself out of the dirty corner of the bookstore and made his way back to the counter. There he froze.

He and Shanks weren’t the only ones in the bookstore anymore. Near the counter stood the man Sanji had met the last time he was here, Shanks’ friend Benn. But that wasn’t the worst part. On top of the counter was sitting a young girl from around five.

“Sanji, meet Rika.” The bookstore owner caressed her hair affectionately.

Quickly, he hid the dirty book behind his back. “H-hi, Rika.”

The girl looked up to him with big, dark eyes. She looked like innocence itself with her brown hair tied in two pigtails.

“Thanks for looking after her,” Benn said to Shanks. “I’ll be back in an hour.” His gruff face softened when looking at the girl.

The red haired man waved his hand. “Yes, yes. It’s fine. Now, go before you’re too late.”

Benn kissed Rika on the head and told her to behave, before reluctantly leaving the store. Shanks laughed. “Aw, parents. Well, have you found what you were looking for?”

Sanji looked up in surprise when he realised the storeowner was talking to him. “Er, yeah.” He still didn’t dare to come closer to the counter, afraid the girl might see the book. Not that the title or the cover gave much away – thank God – but somehow he got the feeling she would sense he bought a dirty book.

“Rika, why don’t you go pick out a book you like and I’ll read it to you,” Shanks suggested smiling. Happily, she jumped off the counter and started to explore the bookstore.

Sanji let out a breath he didn’t realise he was holding. Shanks smirked at him as he walked over to the counter and reluctantly showed the book. He looked askance at the storeowner, but the man didn’t comment on his choice. Well, he didn’t _say_ anything, but his grin spoke volumes.

After he had paid, Sanji wanted to get out of the store as soon as possible. He said goodbye hastily, but before he could get to the door, Shanks decided that that was the time to speak up. “You know,” he said with a meaningful smile, “if you have any questions, I’ll be happy to explain it to you.”

* * *

Having finally come home, Sanji slammed the door close and leaned against it. It felt like a miracle that the earth at some point didn’t decide to swallow him up. He wouldn’t have minded that happening, though, as his ego had suffered a serious blow today. He stared at the book he had bought. Now only to hope that it would be worth it.

He sat down on the couch and taking a deep breath, he opened the book. He read the first page, but then decided he didn’t have the patience to read the whole book. Flipping through the pages, he searched for the part where the sex would be explained.

It wasn’t what he had expected, at least the part preceding the sex. The men in the book first were talking a lot and behaving rather clingy. And apparently in every sentence it had to be said how much they loved each other. The blond burst into laughter when he imagined him and Zoro behaving like that. That would be ridiculous.

He didn’t want the marimo to pamper him. He liked him because the swordsman challenged him, riled him up. He hated him, but at the same time he loved being with Zoro. A smile appeared on his face.

Shaking his head, he focussed on the book again. It was a good thing he had bought it for education purposes only, because the quality of the story left much to be desired. He read the passages from the book that explained how things worked. After that, he put the book down.

The sex scenes hadn’t turned him on, but that was probably also because he got annoyed at the writing style. So now he tried to imagine Zoro doing all that stuff to him – aside from the clingy stuff, of course. He closed his eyes.

_Zoro was lying on top of him, kissing his lips before moving to his yaw, his neck. He arched his back to touch as much of the swordsman as possible, when he suddenly felt teeth sunk in the sensitive flesh of his neck. He yelped, but immediately felt a wet tongue lapping at the painful spot._

_His shirt was unbuttoned and thrown aside carelessly. He didn’t care, not right now. Zoro’s head moved further down, sucking on one of his nipples, while a hand paid attention to the other one. His other hand moved farther south until it grabbed his…_

Sanji’s eyes flung open. Okay, he definitely liked that. Without noticing it, he had opened his shirt and had cupped his growing erection with his hand. With difficulty, he sat up and made his way upstairs. In the bathroom, he opened his pants, sighing as his erection sprang free.

In one of the cabinets, he found lotion, using it to slick his hand. He couldn’t believe he was actually going to do this…

Putting aside his embarrassment, he gave his imagination free rein again. Before his mind’s eye, Zoro was taking off his clothes slowly, revealing more beautiful bronze coloured skin. He swallowed when he imagined what it would be like to touch him, feel the muscles ripple below the skin. His hand slid to his neglected cock and he started to stroke himself. _What would it feel like if Zoro did that?_ The swordsman’s hands were strong and calloused. He moaned and started to pump faster.

_Zoro’s hand moved up and down, speeding up his pace. Suddenly, he stopped and the swordsman sunk down on his knees, grinning wickedly. Then he opened his mouth, swallowing Sanji whole. A strong hand held the blond’s hips in place, to prevent him from choking the green haired man. Sanji moaned when the other man started to bob his head up and down. The blond closed his eyes and threw his head in his neck._

_A hand snuck up between his legs, before pushing his way in. The chef’s eyes flung open at the foreign feeling. The finger moved, but it didn’t hurt as much as he had thought. Zoro’s mouth was distracting him. A second finger entered, started to stretch him. Suddenly, the fingers bended and a wave of pleasure jolted though him. The fingers repeated the motion over and over again, until he came harder than ever before…_

Panting, Sanji opened his eyes to see the mess he had made. Shit, that had felt so good. Now he was rather grateful he had bought the book. Only imagine how great it would be if Zoro really had been there…

The sound of the doorbell ringing started him from his high. Of course, he could pretend he wasn’t home, but he had ordered a new set of knives a while ago. Hopefully, the postman had them right now.

He hoisted up his pants and quickly washed his hands. Still buttoning up his shirt, he made his way down. Through the window next to the door, however, he saw it wasn’t the postman on his doorstep. _Ace and Luffy!_ They should have spotted him already, so pretending he wasn’t home wasn’t an option. He took a few deep breaths, hoping he didn’t look like he just jerked off and was about to open the door, when he realised the book was still lying on the couch. No way he would let Ace see that! He wouldn’t hear the end of it.

As fast as he could, he ran to the living room and threw the book behind the couch. Then he tried to calm himself, before opening the door like nothing was going on. “Hey guys, what are you doing here?”

Ace smiled friendly at him, while his brother was doing some sort of dance. Sanji was wondering what Luffy was doing, when he made out the chant the boy was repeating: “Gotta pee, gotta pee, gotta pee…” As soon as the chef had fully opened the door, he slipped past the blond and began to make his way to the bathroom.

Horrified, Sanji realised what a mess he had made. He couldn’t let Luffy see that! He did a nosedive, tackling the boy. “You can’t go there!” he exclaimed.

Both Ace and Luffy looked at him confused. He turned completely red. “I dropped a glass bottle of shower gel,” he quickly made up. “I have to clean it first!” And before either of them could protest, he was already upstairs and had locked the bathroom door. Trying to catch his breath, he eyed what he had to do. He wetted a towel and cleaned up the remainder of his cum. When the floor was cleaned, he threw the towel in the clothes basket. After that, he took a few seconds to look at himself in the mirror. He looked a bit heated, but fortunately, his clothes didn’t have any stains. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door. Luffy was already waiting, continuing his chant and dance. Sanji stepped aside, grinning. “It’s all yours.”

The boy ran past him, not even bothering to lock the door. The blond heard the toilet seat being thrown up and a relieved sigh. Shaking his head, he made his way downstairs, where Ace was waiting for him.

“So, what are you doing here?” he asked the fire fighter casually.

“Luffy had to pee.”

The chef laughed. “Yeah, I got that.”

Silence fell for a moment, before Ace said: “So, you had to ‘clean’.”

Sanji wasn’t sure if he imagined the tone that seemed to imply that to ‘clean’ didn’t mean to clean. “Yeah,” he said hesitantly. “I dropped a bottle.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. Everyone has to ‘clean’ sometimes,” the dark haired man said with an unsettling grin. “Just keep in mind that there might be someone who would like to help you to ‘clean’.”

They stared at each other for some time. Ace seemed to try sending telepathic messages and the chef was worried his heart might beat out of his chest. Finally, he took a deep breath and said: “I don’t have the money to hire a maid…”

The fireman blinked a few times, like he couldn’t believe how stupid his conversation partner was and Sanji hoped Ace wouldn’t spell out what he meant. He had the feeling he already knew, but he really hoped he was wrong. Fortunately for the blond, at that moment Luffy decided to join them again. He looked a little confused from one to the other, probably noticing the tension, before shrugging, deciding it was not important. “That’s a relief,” he said grinning and patted his belly. “Now I have room for meat again.”

* * *

Zoro was counting the times he lifted his weights – somewhere in the thousand – when his phone started to ring. Annoyed, he tried to ignore it as he hated being disturbed while working out, but the person calling him didn’t seem inclined to give up. Eventually, the green haired man gave in, throwing his weight aside and making another dent in the floor. He wouldn’t get his deposit back anyway.

Grabbing his phone, he saw Ace was trying to reach him. He answered with a grunt. “I was working out.”

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry about that,” the freckled man said hastily, not sounding sorry at all. “You’ll never guess what I found out today.” He was very excited about something.

Zoro sat up, making a sound that indicated he was listening. Ace didn’t need more encouragement, because he started rambling: “So I just got back from Sanji’s house–”

“What were you doing there?” the swordsman asked, wiping his brow with a towel.  
“Just saying hi and Luffy had to pee. Not the point of the story. Anyway, when he opened the door, our chef was looking very heated.” He paused, like this information should mean anything to Zoro.

As it didn’t, he asked: “So?”

“Well, Luffy had to pee, like I said, but when my brother wanted to use the bathroom, Sanji stopped him – by tackling him, nonetheless – claiming he first had to ‘clean’ the bathroom.”

The swordsman waited for his friend to continue, but when he didn’t, he repeated: “So?”

Ace made an annoyed sound. “Do I really have to spell it out for you? Fine, pay attention to the facts. One, he looked very _heated_. Two, he had to _clean the bathroom_. Three, I found porn behind his couch.”

Zoro, who had just taken a sip of water, immediately spitted it out again. “What?! You didn’t say that the first time!”

“The other things should have given it away. But,” his friend continued grinning, “do you get it now? Right before Luffy and I came, our chef had been jerking off.”

Zoro was glad Ace couldn’t see him, as his cheeks were bright red at the moment. The image of Sanji pleasuring himself wasn’t very good for his brain. Trying to sound normal and not like every ounce of blood in his body had rushed south, he managed to choke out: “So? Every guy jacks off every once in a while.” Not too long ago Sanji had caught him doing it…

“That’s not even the best part.” Ace sounded like he was dying to tell him, but also was having the time of his life. “The book I found behind the couch… It was _gay_ porn.”

The swordsman was just trying to drink something again to calm himself down, this time he almost chocked on the water.

The fireman seemed amused by his reaction, as he continued: “Well, porn is a bit exaggerated. More of a romance story. Badly written too. But it was definitely about boy-on-boy action. Do you get what this means?”

“That Sanji has a bad taste in books?” Zoro asked, still coughing.

“No, stupid! That he finally realises how hot sex with a guy is!” Ace yelled out frustrated. “Don’t you get it yet? He finally has had the last push he needed! So go over there and fuck him raw!”

Zoro mumbled: “You don’t even know if he likes _me_ …”

It stayed silent for a moment before Ace burst out: “How stupid can you be, you stubborn buffoon?! Of course he likes you! You two spend all your time together! Who else should he like?”

“Aren’t you always bragging even straight guys turn their heads for you?” the swordsman flung back.

His friend seemed to grasp for air, eventually making a frustrated sound. “God, you’re an idiot! I can’t talk to you. I’m gonna have sex with Marco!”

* * *

A little nervous, Sanji sipped from his beer. Why he was sitting here, in this pub, he wasn’t sure. Somehow, he apparently hadn’t humiliated himself enough lately, so he had decided to call an old friend to talk about what he should do with Zoro. Would he be too late? Would the swordsman have given up on him?

He almost spit out his beer when a hand slapped his shoulder. He turned around to face his friend. “Hey, Gin. Glad you could make it.”

“I never turn down an old friend.” The black haired man sat down next to the chef and ordered a beer.

“Really? Because last time I called you for a favour, you left me hanging for a shitty date,” Sanji reminded him.

Gin shrugged. “You didn’t offer me beer then.”

They drunk in silence for a while. Sanji eyed his friend, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time. He hadn’t changed at all. Gin was a tall man with black hair and a small moustache and goatee. As usual, he was wearing a blue white striped bandana.

Gin seemed to lose his patience. “So why did you call me out of the blue anyway? You need my car again?”

Biting his lip, Sanji took out his phone. He scrolled through the pictures on it, eventually opening one Nami had send him a few days ago. It was a picture of him and Zoro dancing at Vivi’s wedding. They really looked like a couple in there. The red head said she had taken the photo, but forgot about it until then. And he really had the right to have it, according to her.

He zoomed in on Zoro, so that he himself wasn’t visible anymore and slid the phone over to Gin. “What do you think of him?”

His friend took up the phone and looked at the picture frowning. “I don’t know. What do you want to know?”

“You think he’s hot?”

Gin looked at him like he had asked him to marry him. “What? Hell if I know. I don’t think about guys like that!”

“Oh, really? ‘Cause you did seem to enjoy yourself when you made out with _me_.”

He didn’t know why he brought it up. He had spend months trying to forget about it happening. But it did, when they were both really drunk. He couldn’t remember how it happened, only that it did. Neither of them had ever brought it up and frankly, he had thought Gin didn’t even remember the incident. Seeing his face now all heated up, however, told him his friend clearly did.

“That was a stupid drunken mistake!” Gin yelled out. “You think I’m gay? Is that why you invited me here?” The black haired man raised his fist threatening.

Sanji wasn’t scared of him, he could easily take him down and they both knew that. Still, he wasn’t here to fight. “Sit your ass back down. I’m not here to insult you. I need your help.”

Gin seemed to calm down and sat down on the barstool again. “Okay, what do you need?”

The blond took his phone and zoomed out the photo again, so both he and the marimo were visible. When he had received the photo, only a few days ago, he had been tempted to delete it. He didn’t want to be reminded about that day. But for some reason he kept it and now he was kind of glad about that. It was a nice memory, lying in the swordsman’s arms like that. Hell, if he’d known then how he would feel now, he wouldn’t have needed to act. Zoro was a great catch, and they looked like an attractive couple.

He hadn’t noticed Gin was looking over his shoulder at the picture until he spoke up: “Dude, are _you_ gay?”

Hastily he turned around his phone, so the photo wasn’t visible anymore. “No! I just…” He sighed. “He,” he tapped on the phone to indicate Zoro, “is like the exception that proves the rule, you know?”

“So, you do like him?” Gin asked, still a bit disbelieving. After all, he only knew Sanji as the ultimate womaniser – aside from that drunken mistake, of course. When the chef nodded carefully, his jaw dropped.

In silence, they drunk their beer, not making eye contact. Finally, Gin spoke up: “So, you’re coming out to me or somethin’?

“I’m not sure. I don’t know how to proceed,” Sanji shrugged.

“You’re not dating already? ‘Cause that photo…”

“I was only doing him a favour by pretending I was his boyfriend,” the chef quickly explained. “I know he liked me, but I might have taken too long to realise…”

Gin rolled his eyes. “Dude, have you seen that picture?” He grabbed Sanji’s phone and pressed the photo practically against his nose. “Do you see how he looks at you? How long ago was this taken?’

“A few weeks ago,” he shrugged.

“Well, if you like this guy, go for it! I’ve never seen you doubting yourself when you liked a girl! Go get him!”

Sanji looked at his friend in utter shock for a while. “So,” he asked carefully, “you don’t mind I like a guy?’

Gin shrugged grinning, taking a sip from his beer. “More girls for me.”


	16. Chapter 16

Gin’s approval had been the last thing he needed, apparently, because as soon as his friend had showed his support, Sanji couldn’t wait to leave. Gin had protested, but the blond told him this was payback from when the dark haired man had ditched him for a girl. After that, he had dashed out.

Now, he was making his way to Zoro’s house. For some reason it had seemed a good idea to ride his bicycle to the bar where he had met Gin. He should have first gone home and get his car, but he couldn’t wait to get to Zoro. They would finally resolve the tension between them. Sanji was so exited, he didn’t even mind the rain that was pouring down on his head. Sure, it would ruin his suit, but what better weather than the same as they met in? He was drenched already, but that still didn’t wipe the smile off his face.

Finally, the swordsman’s house came in sight and Sanji was once again very happy he didn’t have the marimo’s sense of direction. Not even bothering to lock his bike, he let it fall in the grass and ran to the door, ringing the doorbell like there was a fire.

Nobody answered.

He waited a while before ringing again, but still no one came to the door. He started to panic. Zoro should be home, shouldn’t he? He always was, it wasn’t like he had much work to do. The blond pulled his phone out of his pocket, debating whether or not to call him. It never occurred to him to think about what to say to the green haired man when he finally saw him. He assumed it would come to him then.

But calling? Would he know what to say then? Or was Zoro not being home some sort of sign?

Suddenly, all the energy that had been rushing through him had drained away and left him feeling weary. Maybe he had been prevented to make a huge mistake. Where would he find a friend like Zoro again?

Numbly, he walked to his bicycle, picked it up and slowly started to peddle in the direction of his house. He should be happy. The universe or whatever had prevented him from making a big mistake. Really, what had he been thinking? He was Sanji, womaniser. And no guy would be an exception.

Then why did he feel this empty inside?

Lost in thoughts, he cycled past Luffy’s and Ace’s house. He didn’t notice the boy until he called out Sanji’s name. He thought about pretending he didn’t hear Luffy, but he called again and this time it was impossible to ignore. Really, the whole neighbourhood knew he was cycling past!

Sighing, he braked and came to a halt. “Hey Luffy.”

“You’re all wet.” The boy frowned, leaning on a stick he had been playing with.

“Yeah, it is–” ‘ _Raining,_ ’ he wanted to say, but much to his surprise he noticed it was dry now. When did that happen? He was too much wallowing in self-pity to notice. He sighed. “It _was_ raining.”

“Where do you come from?”

“Nevermind that. Why are you outside? It’s cold.”

Luffy cocked his head to the side a little. “That’s just ‘cause you’re wet,” he said grinning. “But,” he continued in a whining tone, “I’m so bored! Will you cook for me?”

“I don’t really feel like cooking right now. Is Ace with Marco again?”

The boy nodded. “They’re at Marco’s dojo.” He placed the stick against his shoulder like a rifle and started to pace up and down.

Sanji bit his lip before asking carefully: “Do you know where Zoro is?”

Luffy stopped pacing again. “Zoro? He’s with Ace and Marco, of course.”

“He’s… what?” Suddenly, images of Zoro along with a naked Ace and Marco filled his head, even though that didn’t make sense if they were at the dojo, but he desperately wanted to get rid of those pictures. So he was very grateful when Luffy said: “Marco got him a job as a kendo-instructor. This is the first day he trains the kids by himself.”

The blond wanted to slap himself in the head. Of course, he knew that! But it still didn’t change the fact that perhaps it was better for them to stay friends.

“Were you looking for him? I can give him a message,” the black haired boy offered.

But Sanji shook his head. “No thanks. I’m just going home and take a bath. I’m cold and wet.”

“So you’re not going to cook for me?” his friend pouted.

“Sorry, not today.” He patted the boy on the head and started peddling his way home.

* * *

The light blue car pulled up on the driveway. “Are you sure I don’t have to drop you off at your place?” Marco asked.

“Nah, Ace promised me beer,” Zoro said with a grin on his face.

“You’re coming too, right?” the freckled man asked his boyfriend.

But the blond shook his head. “Not tonight. I have to finish a report before tomorrow morning.”

Ace pouted a little, but then pulled the man in for a kiss. Zoro stepped out of the car and walked to the trunk to get his sports bag. He was happy for Ace, and Marco was very nice as well, but seeing them all happy and couplely made him feel… Well, like the odd man out. So he was grateful that Luffy sat on the doorstep pouting. “Hey Lu. You’re waiting for us?”

The boy jumped up and would have probably wagged his tail if he had one. “Yes! I was so bored!” he made it sound like they had been gone for days instead of two hours.

“And Sanji was so mean! He didn’t even want to cook for me,” Luffy continued pouting.

Zoro raised an eyebrow. “Did you call him?”

“No, he stopped by.”

“Really?” Ace just stepped out of the car. Marco waved at them, before driving off. The freckled man walked over to his brother. “Why did he stop by then?”

“Well, he cycled by. First he didn’t see me, so I called his name,” Luffy explained. “And then he said he was looking for Zoro.”

“Me?” The swordsman frowned. “Why would he be looking for me?”  
“He said he was wet and wanted to take a bath with you. Wait, is that right?” The black haired boy pulled a face like he had dropped something heavy on his foot, but by now Zoro had learned that was just his thinking face.

He doubted very much that was what Sanji had said, but Luffy seemed pretty sure the chef had been looking for him. He looked at Ace, still thinking about the promised beer.

The freckled man grinned at him. “If you’re not going, I will.”

That was enough of a threat to make him leave right away. But he barely was on his way when Ace stopped him. “Er, Zoro? Sanji’s house is the other way.”

* * *

The bath had done him a world of good. He still wasn’t quite sure what to do about Zoro, but at least now his mind had come to a rest and he felt pleasantly drowsy.

That was why he was extra annoyed when the doorbell rang. He just wanted a quiet evening. Sighing, he opened the door. And almost closed it again.

On the doorstep stood none other than the marimo himself. Sanji gulped when all the feelings he had desperately tried to push away came all rushing back to him. He stood completely frozen.

“Luffy said you were looking for me,” the deep voice he had come to love so much said.

He swallowed a few times before answering: “I told him it wasn’t important. So you can leave now.” He attempted to close the door, but Zoro’s strong hand prevented him from doing that.

“Well, I’m here now, so why don’t you just tell me?”

Panic started to overcome his still drowsy brain. What should he say? He still hadn’t figured it out when his body started to move on its own. He grabbed the back of the swordsman’s neck and pulled him close. Their lips touched for a brief second before Sanji let go again and walked towards the living room.

Zoro was stunned, to say the least. He stood frozen, his brain not quite able to comprehend what just happened. His lips still felt the touch of the other’s. Sanji had kissed him. Sanji had fucking _kissed_ him!

Finally, his body listened to him again and he followed the blond to the living room. The chef was sitting on the couch, smoking a cigarette like nothing happened. “Took you long enough,” he said.

Zoro was stunned again, but this time recovered quickly. “What the hell was that?!” he brought out.

Sanji took a long drag. There was no use denying what he did and to be quite honest, he wanted more of it. He wanted to kiss the swordsman. So he said: “I kissed you.”

“I got that much! But,” his tone became softer, “why?”

The blond looked at the floor. He had no trouble declaring his love to a random woman walking down the street, but saying to a guy he liked him? To _Zoro_? He gulped and took another drag. “Because I like you,” he whispered, barely audible.

The green haired man flopped on the couch next to him, a little too close for comfort. The blond tried to look away, but the swordsman grabbed his chin and forced him to look his way. “Are you drunk?” he asked in a tone like a father would ask his teenage child.

Sanji pulled away. “No.”

Zoro let himself fall against the back of the couch. “You like me?” he asked a little doubtful.

The blond pulled a cushion against him. “No, of course not. You’re an asshole and I hate you.”

A silence fell, until Zoro suddenly burst into laughter, startling Sanji. “What the hell is wrong with you?” he snapped at the swordsman, putting out his cigarette in the ashtray with angry movements.

“I hate you too, Love-cook.” Before the blond could react, Zoro had pinned him down on the couch and caught his lips with his own. The chef tried to struggle, but gave up when the green haired man licked at his lips. Hesitantly, he parted them. Zoro immediately claimed his mouth, causing the blond to gasp a little. Kissing Zoro was very different from kissing any girl he had ever tried it with. Just when the swordsman thought he had pinned Sanji’s tongue down with his own, the blond hit back. It was a fight, a competition, like everything they did.

The swordsman’s hands roamed his body and tugged at the bathrobe the blond was still wearing. He gasped a little, biting Zoro’s lip. All his doubts had disappeared. He wanted Zoro and it was quite obvious the green haired man was still interested in him as well. At least a certain part of him, that was currently poking against his thigh. The blond knew he should be embarrassed, but he wasn’t. Quite frankly, he was feeling the same.

Suddenly, Zoro pulled back, panting, and stared down at Sanji. The chef’s cheeks were flushed, his lips red from the violent kissing. As it was for the blond, this was by far the hottest make-out session he had ever had. That was why what he was about to do next so hard – no pun intended – having the cook all hot and bothered.

Sanji looked at him questioning, surprised at the sudden stop. He was just starting to enjoy himself.

“I’m gonna leave now, before I do something you’ll regret later,” the green haired man grunted. He hated himself right now, but he knew he would even regret it more if he pushed Sanji too far. After all, the blond had just discovered this side of himself.

Sanji nodded. It was probably for the best, though his body told him that Zoro could do whatever he wanted to him. Not that he would ever tell him that.

“Marimo?”

The green haired man stopped in his tracks.

“Please don’t tell anyone. Not yet.”

The swordsman thought for a moment, but then nodded. He looked at the hot body on the couch with a pained expression on his face one more time before walking to the door. The cold air outside did him a world of good, taming his arousal. It was still tempting to run back inside and drag the blond up to the bedroom, but they were in no hurry. Not now Sanji had finally given in to his feelings.

He started to stroll in a random direction and found himself back at the house of the D-brothers. Ace did promise him beer. A smirk crept on his face. Making out with Sanji _and_ booze? This night kept getting better and better.

He opened the front door with his own set of keys, as both the D-brothers had the tendency to lose their own. He found Ace and Luffy sitting on the couch playing video games.

“Zoro!” the latter called out excitedly. “You’re in?”

“Sure. But first beer.” The green haired man walked towards the kitchen.

“Now, just wait a second!” Ace stopped him, before he could leave the room. “How did it go with Sanji? What did he have to say?”

Zoro flashed him a mysterious smile he knew didn’t agree with his friend and fled into the kitchen. As predicted, he was soon followed by Ace.

“Don’t you do that to me! What happened? Tell me!” The freckled man was looking like a puppy begging his owner to throw a stick.

The swordsman grabbed a beer from the fridge and took an unnecessary long draught, just to mess with his friend. After that, he sighed contently and said evilly: “I can’t.”

Ace puffed his cheeks in an offended way. But then he seemed to realise something. “Wait, that must mean something happened between you two. Now you _have_ to tell me!”

“I can’t,” Zoro repeated.

“That’s so mean! I _always_ tell you _everything_.”

The green haired man snorted. “Did you ever stop to think I might not want to know what you do in the bedroom? Or wherever you have sex.”

“Of course you do, especially during your dry spell. Which I’m guessing is over now?” He studied Zoro’s face on any indication he was right. But the swordsman gave nothing away, much to his friend’s annoyance. “Come on! I’ve deserved it. I’ve been rooting for you two the whole time!”

Zoro sighed. “I promised not to say anything.” He thought for a moment. “But if you were to guess…”

Ace’s mood veered around right away.

“But,” the green haired man warned, “I’ll only answer three questions, and I’ll only shake or nod, understand? So pick your questions carefully.”

The freckled man bounced up and down excitedly. “Did you guys have sex?” He had obviously been dying to ask this question.

Zoro shook his head, causing Ace’s face to cloud over.

“Alright. Did you kiss?”

It wasn’t even necessary for him to nod with the grin that spread across his face. The fireman started to laugh and clapped his hands. “I knew it! I told you he only needed a last push! How was it? No, that wasn’t one of my questions,” he interrupted himself, probably realising Zoro wouldn’t be able to answer that with a shake or nod. He seemed to think really hard, his face resembling Luffy’s thinking face. Eventually, he took a deep breath and asked with a serious face: “So, are you guys dating now?”

At that, Zoro had to shrug. He had no idea what they would do next. Hopefully, something that ended with him fucking the blond, but he understood he had to take things slow if he wanted to make it work with Sanji.

“Wait, so you made out with him, and then left him _alone_ all hot and heavy?”

Zoro scratched the back of his head embarrassed.

“Oh my God, Zoro! You are such an idiot!” Ace made a gesture like he had given up on his friend.

* * *

The next day, Zoro found himself standing in front of Sanji’s house again. Ace was right, they needed to talk. And perhaps he was an idiot as well.

It took him a few minutes and deep breaths before he finally rung the doorbell. Sanji opened the door, fully dressed this time. “Marimo,” he said a little surprised.

“We need to talk.” For some reason his voice sounded very grave.

The blond noticed and his face fell. “Yeah, sure. Come in,” he mumbled and let Zoro walk past. “You hungry?” he suddenly asked.

The swordsman nodded ­– like hell he would pass up a free meal cooked by Sanji – and took a seat on the couch. He didn’t really know what to say anyway, and if the blond would cook first, at least he had some time to think about it.

Nervously, Sanji took out some pots and pans and started on a simple but delicious meal. Cooking always helped him to calm his nerves and that was exactly what he needed right now. He knew very well that he and Zoro should talk, but that didn’t mean he was looking forward to it. Zoro had sounded like someone had died, so that couldn’t mean good news. Did he change his mind? Was he only interested in sex and had he decided he didn’t want to risk their friendship?

He forced himself to focus on his cooking. He would hear soon enough what the marimo had to say and if he didn’t like it, he would just have to change Zoro’s mind.

A while later, he walked into the living room, holding two steaming plates. Zoro looked at his a bit weary. To him it seemed like dry tagliatelle with mushrooms and some herbs, but when he took a bite he was pleasantly surprised by a sour tang of lemon and garlic.

The blond sat down next to him on the couch. They ate in silence, while Sanji cast worried glances Zoro’s way every once in a while. Finally, the swordsman put down his empty plate and sighed contently. “’s Good, Cook.”

“I know.” Still, he smiled a little. Wanting to just get their ‘talk’ over with, he said: “So, what do we have to discuss?”

The swordsman let himself fall back against the back of the couch. “Us. Well, this.” He gestured to himself and Sanji.

“Okay.” The blond placed his plate on the coffee table. “What is this?” He mimicked Zoro’s gesture. “I’ve told you how I feel. So what do _you_ want?”

“You.”

The answer came so abrupt and honest, Sanji looked up in surprise, blinking at the swordsman. “Me?”

“Yeah, didn’t I made that clear last night?”

The blond felt his cheeks flush. “So, now we’re like… dating?” he asked carefully.

Zoro thought for a moment. “I guess so,” he eventually said. “Just remember, Cook, I’m not a girl.”

Sanji snorted. “I know that. That’s what started the problem to begin with.”

“I mean, don’t get all Love-cook on me. You know, be your idiot self.”

“Like a Neanderthal like you would even deserve my attention that way!” the blond flung back.

A smirk appeared on the swordsman’s face, catching Sanji off guard. “What?” he asked insecurely.

“I just remembered why I liked you in the first place.”

A flush made his way to his cheeks. “Idiot,” he mumbled embarrassed.

Zoro laughed again and pulled the blond against him.

They ended up watching an old horror movie, Sanji resting with his back against Zoro’s stomach. Even though they were now ‘dating’, it felt like nothing had changed, aside from the occasional stolen kiss or astray hand.

When the movie ended, it was already quite late.

“You wanna stay over?” Sanji asked, a pink stain on his cheeks.

The swordsman nodded and followed the man upstairs. The blond hoped he didn’t get the wrong idea; he was very grateful Zoro had stopped yesterday where he did, the cook wasn’t ready for more. Not yet.

In the bedroom, the green haired man threw off his shirt and pants and lied down in bed before Sanji was ready. “Glad you feel at home,” the blond said sarcastically. Still, he crept into bed after putting on his pyjamas and brushing his teeth, before lying close to Zoro. The green haired man wrapped his arm around him, making him feel… warm, and safe for some reason. Which was stupid, because he could perfectly well take care of himself. Still, the feeling wasn’t unpleasant.

* * *

Sanji woke in the middle of the night. He didn’t know what woke him, but he didn’t have to feel to know he was hard. Behind him Zoro was snoring softly. He tried to untangle himself from Zoro’s grip, but the man instinctively only held him tighter.

The green haired man opened his eyes, being waked by Sanji’s struggling. “Whatyadoin’?” he mumbled sleepy.

“Nothing! Just let go of me!” He struggled some more, causing Zoro’s hand to slide down.

Surprised, the green haired man felt the large bulge under his hand. Then his mouth curved into a smirk. “Where you dreaming about me?”

“As if! Like I don’t see your ugly mug enough during the day. Now, let go of me!”

“Actually, I was planning on doing just the opposite.”

Sanji sat frozen as Zoro’s hand slipped into his pyjama trousers, cupping his erection. He hissed when contact was made with his sensitive flesh. The green haired man sat behind him and started to pump his hand up and down. The blond let his head fall back against Zoro’s shoulder, sighing in pleasure. It felt so good to have someone else touch him like that. Especially the marimo’s large, calloused hand.

The swordsman watched the other man intensely. He looked and sounded so hot… The blond moaned and moved his hips back and forth in rhythm with Zoro’s hand, pressing his ass against the green haired man’s crotch in the process. Watching the chef like this had already been arousing, but feeling his body against his own, made Zoro just as hard.

Sanji closed his eyes. It had been a long time since he had felt this good. The last time had been… when Zoro gave him his first blowjob. God, if he hadn’t been so stubborn he could have felt like that many times since then… He heard Zoro pant in his ear, getting just as excited as he was, judging by the poking he felt in his back. He would have thought he would be grossed out by turning a man on, by _feeling_ a man get turned on, but if anything, it aroused him even more. Nearing his limits, he couldn’t control his voice anymore, moaning: “S-shit… Zoro…!” before his body collapsed against the green haired man.

The swordsman swallowed hard. Though the chef hadn’t resisted nor was drunk, he still had no idea what the fickle cook would do once he came down from his high. He was just trying to figure out how he would get out from under the sprawled out cook, when the blond suddenly turned around, pinning him against the bed and frankly, catching him completely off guard. Their lips locked before he could say anything and deft fingers made their way into his underwear.

He gasped and his hips buckled automatically when a slim but strong hand wrapped itself around his neglected cock. Sanji was lying on top of him, still kissing him while his hand pumped up and down. All this time without any kind of physical contact – because since he had met Sanji, he hadn’t dated anyone, nor slept with anyone – feeling this soft yet slightly calloused hand, which was not his own, pleasing him, it soon became too much. Though he wanted to last longer, he couldn’t. The muscles in his stomach tensed up, before relaxing completely. He suppressed a moan, but couldn’t help but bite Sanji’s lip when he came.

Finally stopping to kiss him, the blond rolled off his new lover while Zoro tried to get back to reality. The chef’s brain still couldn’t wrap itself around the fact that he had just pleasured a man. He didn’t know what had come over him when he threw himself on Zoro, but he didn’t regret it either. It had been quite hot.

Zoro finally managed to scramble his brains together and he wrapped his arms around Sanji’s waist, pulling him close. The blond didn’t struggle, he had always been a cuddler after sex. They were both sticky, from sweat and cum. The swordsman nuzzled his nose in the blond strands. “So you quite liked your first handjob from a man, hm?” he chuckled in Sanji’s ear.

“Whatever,” the chef mumbled.

“I expected a little more enthusiasm. After all, you did moan my name…”

The blond was happy it was dark and Zoro couldn’t see his red cheeks. “I did not! Now shut up and go to sleep.” But he did creep a little closer to the warm body beside him.

* * *

The next morning, he fortunately woke up before the swordsman. He didn’t really know what to say and the stupid grin that was plastered on his face didn’t really help. Like hell he would show the swordsman that!

He showered, made breakfast and got pen and paper to write a note he had to get to work. When he was writing, Zoro came down, yawning and still in his boxers. Noticing Sanji already dressed and about to leave, he raised an eyebrow. “You weren’t going to wake me up?”

“Well, I assumed last night was the first time you got any in a while, so I thought you needed some more time to recover,” Sanji remarked snidely. He mentally slapped himself. He had planned to avoid the topic until absolutely necessary. Oh well, being snide about it was probably the easiest way to deal with it.

And it was. Zoro snorted. “Yeah? Like it has been busy in your bed lately.”

“Working at the restaurant is a demanding job. What’s your excuse?” The grin found its way to his face again, but now at least he could pretend he was making fun of Zoro. Which, of course, he was doing.

Before the swordsman could make a snide reply, the blond shoved the plate of food in his hand. “Here, eat. I have to go now. I would say: ‘Make yourself at home’, but I’ve seen how you live. Please make sure I still recognise the place when I get back.” With that, he pulled the door shut.

On his way to the restaurant in his car, the annoying grin reappeared. He thought back to the night Zoro and he met. If his car hadn’t broke down, they would never have bumped into each other. Damn, he didn’t even know the marimo that long and he already couldn’t imagine his life without that green haired idiot.

Focussing on the road again, he picked up some words of the song playing on the radio.

‘ _Sometimes I hate every single stupid word you say  
Sometimes I wanna slap you in your whole face_ ’

He couldn’t help but smile. That could easily be about him and Zoro.

‘ _You push all my buttons down_ ’

Definitely.

‘ _You're an asshole but I love you_ ’

Wow, wow, wait! What? Love? That was a bit too soon, wasn’t it?

‘ _But I hate you, I really hate you,_  
 _So much, I think it must be_  
 _True love, true love_ ’

Quickly, he turned off the radio. True love? No way. The scary thing was that the rest of the song was spot on… He hated the marimo, but at the same time he wanted to be with him. But that just meant he really liked him – not loved him. Pushing these thoughts aside, he parked the car in his own parking space labelled head chef and entered the restaurant.

“You look awfully happy,” Zeff greeted him gruffly.

Sanji tried to wipe the smile off his face, in vain. Stupid Marimo. Who would have thought that green haired idiot could actually make him this happy? “Don’t think that’s ‘cause of you, old man.”

“I know that grin.” Out of nowhere, Usopp suddenly stood behind him. “You always look like that when you have just fallen in love–”

“What?!” Sanji shrieked. “I’m not in love!” Damn, even without being here the marimo worked on his nerves.

Usopp looked at him curiously. The blond bit his lip. That must have looked quite suspicious. He never had problems telling about his new lady-love. But this time the lady part was missing. And the love part!

Flushed, he turned around and started working.

Zeff plucked his moustache and looked at his adoptive son. “That reminds me. The boy that that woman forced me to hire is coming this afternoon, so show him around the kitchen.”

“What?! But today the food will be delivered!” Shaking his head, he turned to the architect. “Usopp, when Luffy gets here, it is your job to guard that food with your life, understand?”

His friend’s knees started to shake. “B-but… You know what Luffy’s like when it comes to food!”

“That’s why you’re the man for the job. I don’t really care if he eats you.” With an evil grin, Sanji entered the kitchen.

That afternoon, Luffy bounced into the restaurant. “Oi, Sanji! I’m here!” he yelled loud enough that the blond would have heard it if he were at home.

Rubbing his still ringing ears, the chef led the excited boy hastily to the kitchen, exchanging a look with Usopp.

“Alright, your job is very simple. Collect the plates the waiters and lovely waitresses have placed over here.” He pointed to a counter. “Just scrape the plates clean of the leftovers – we don’t like to waist food here, but I doubt I have to tell you not to throw it away.”

Luffy nodded, his face serious.

“Then you place the dishes in the dishwasher and when it’s full, turn it on like this.” He demonstrated. “You understand?”

The boy nodded again, still looking serious, but somehow Sanji got the feeling Luffy had not been listening after the word ‘food’. He sighed. This was bound to become a disaster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song is 'True Love' by Pink


	17. Chapter 17

Finally, the day was there: today the new Baratie would officially open. Sanji was excited, but he couldn’t help but feel a little nervous as well. Not just because they had several new staff members, whom he had been training all week, but also because all his friends would be there, including Zoro.

They were dating for almost two weeks now, if it could be called that. The only thing they had done, was what they already did before all this happened, which was just hanging out and watching movies together at the cook’s or the swordsman’s place. Only now they kissed or did an occasional hand job. They hadn’t gone any further than that as Sanji didn’t feel like he was ready for more. Their friends still didn’t know anything, something he liked to keep that way for now.

But they hadn’t hung out with all their friends present either, since Sanji was busy with the finishing touches at the restaurant, and now the blond was nervous Zoro would do something stupid. He was an idiot marimo after all…

Pushing away these thoughts, he straightened his tie as he gave the staff their final instructions. Today, Sanji would oversee the waiters, as there were many new ones. He was a bit bummed that he didn’t get the chance to cook tonight, but he shrugged it off. There would be other nights. Besides, there were way more cute waitresses than female chefs. After dancing around them and worshipping them for the beautiful angels that they were, he turned to the males. “Listen up, shitheads, this is the most important night of your worthless lives, understand? Mess it up, and you will find my foot so far up your arse, it will come out of your mouth. You,” he pointed to Luffy, who stood to attention like he was in the military, “you can eat all the leftovers from the plates of the guests, _if_ you behave yourself. Got it?”

“Yes, Sir!” the boy called out, saluting with a big grin on his face.

Sanji had to admit he liked being treated as an officer, so he decided to play along. “That would be all. Dismissed.” With a flick of his hand, he sent them off. He himself went out the back door and joined Zeff with all the paparazzi at the front of the building. They had gone all out, there was a red carpet and tape, which the mayor would cut. Sanji had made sure he looked his best, though he doubted his foster father was in any picture with a smile on his face. Still, he knew that Zeff was ecstatic, the ever present frown was less visible than usual.

The ribbon was cut and pictures were taken, before the first guests were allowed in. First the mayor of course, along with the chief of police, who was none other than Luffy and Ace’s grandfather Garp, and some other big shots. Next, Sanji’s friends arrived. He couldn’t help but grin goofily when he saw Nami, Vivi and Robin approach. They looked more lovely than ever, Nami wearing a dark red dress, Vivi a blue one and Robin was dressed in purple. He hurried himself over to them, kissing their hands and accompany them inside. They were followed by Usopp, Franky, Ace, Marco, Chopper, Brook, Kohza and of course the marimo himself. Gin had politely declined his invitation, saying he had something else to do.

Despite fawning over the women like usual, Sanji couldn’t keep his eyes off Zoro. He had seen him in a suit before of course, but damn… The swordsman caught him staring and smirked – did he imagine it or did the swordsman sway his hips a little more? The blond hastily looked away, willing the flush on his cheeks away and helped the girls with their seats.

“So why aren’t you in the kitchen, Mr Cook?” Robin asked him after thanking him.

“Must be because they don’t want anyone to have food poisoning on the opening night,” Zoro said smirking.

Sanji turned around brusquely. “What did you say, moss-for-a-brain?!”

“You heard me, shit cook.”

They glared at each other, until they heard a shy cough behind them. “Ehm, Sanji? I’m supposed to wait this table, right?” Kaya asked, holding a pile of menus.

“Yes, of course, my radiant angel. I will leave you to it.” He bowed and after glaring at Zoro one more time, he went back to the door to welcome the other guests.

Every once in a while, he glanced over at the table where his friends were at – not looking at Zoro of course, don’t be ridiculous – rather to see how Kaya was doing. She seemed fine, a bright smile on her face as she talked to Usopp. Those two should hurry up and get together already. Well, he wasn’t one to talk, was he?

He was helping out one of the waitresses behind the bar when he noticed the final two guests he had invited standing by the table with his friends. Hastily, he made his way over.

Shanks was wearing a black jacket, covered by an equally black cloak. Benn was standing next to him, also in suit. When the red haired man noticed the chef, he smiled brightly at him. “Evening, Sanji. So nice of you to invite us.”

“Of course,” he muttered a little surprised. “I didn’t know you knew each other.” He gestured between his friends and the bookstore owner.

“Sure we do,” Ace said. “Shanks is Luffy’s godfather.”

Sanji raised his curly eyebrows. “He is?”

Shanks just smirked. “Where is the little rascal anyway? Did you have to lock him up?”

“Actually, he’s working as a dishwasher-boy.” Sanji sighed. “I had to promise him all the leftovers, but I think he’ll behave.”

Shanks laughed. “What an optimist you are.”

“How do you know Shanks, Sanji?” Nami asked.

“I always buy books in his store, my beautiful flower~”

“All books, eh?” Zoro asked smirking.

Sanji froze. Something in the swordsman’s tone was unsettling. But he couldn’t know… Could he? Quickly, he changed the subject. “But I can pull up another table, if you prefer to sit together.”

“That’s okay,” Shanks and Ace said simultaneously, before the redhead continued: “I was aiming for a quiet night, anyway.”

A little confused about their resolute refusal, Sanji let Shanks and Benn to the table he had reserved for them. “May I take your coat?” he asked the former.

“No, thank you. I’m fine.”

Sanji flushed, realizing that the cloak was draped so it covered the man’s missing arm. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

But the red haired man waved his apologies away. “Don’t worry about it. And I should be the one apologizing since we’re late,” he said. “Benn couldn’t leave Rika.”

“You would be reluctant to leave if it was your daughter staying with those morons,” the grey haired man grumbled.

“I told you, it’ll be fine.”

“They’re your friends. That means they’re irresponsible.”

“Are you saying you are?”

“I’ll go get your menus,” Sanji said hastily, before leaving the bickering couple – if they weren’t, they sure as hell looked like one. While he made his way to the bar where they kept them, he glanced around the restaurant. It was pretty full, with the people Zeff and Sanji had invited and guests who had made a reservation. They would have a good turnover tonight. Humming happily, he brought the menus to the table and took their drinking order. After that, he made his way to the bar to pour them.

Zoro kept his eyes on the man standing behind the bar. Sanji didn’t want to tell anyone about them, not yet anyway. The swordsman hadn’t had the guts to confess that Ace already did know, he didn’t need to be skinned alive. And by her all-knowing looks, he was sure Robin was aware what was going on as well. The blond had had a hard time admitting to himself he may like a man, and they shouldn’t rush things. But even though he understood that part a little, it was difficult not to imagine taking him right here on one of these tables every time that fine ass was walking past. Hand jobs were good and all, but he wanted more than that. But he would be patient. He would wait until the blond was ready. He had waited so long already, what could a few more weeks hurt? It was just another test of stamina.

Kaya brought their appetisers, a gentle smile on her face every time she looked at Usopp. Zoro stared at the plate in front of him. It looked delicious, he had trouble not to drool on it. But since Luffy wasn’t here, or at least not at the table, he didn’t have to stuff his face right away and decided to wait until everyone had what they ordered.

Franky told Kaya the food looked “SUPERR” and she thanked him, before returning to the kitchen to fetch the rest. She returned fairly quickly, carrying Robin’s shrimp cocktail and Usopp’s mustard soup. Unfortunately, she tripped before she could place the plate in front of the architect, effectively launching the piping hot soup in his lap.

All men at the table had a pained expression on their face, aware what part had been hit. Kaya had placed her hand over her mouth, looking utterly devastated. “I’m so sorry!”

Chopper immediately started to panic. “Someone call a doctor!”

“You are a doctor,” Zoro said gently. “So is Kaya.”

The brown haired boy sighed in relief. “That’s true. I forgot about that.”

Despite the obvious pain written on his face, Usopp gave them the thumps up. “Really, this is nothing. Once I was tied to a table in the lair of an evil spy, who tried to cut me in half with a laser.”

Chopper’s eyes grew until twice their size. “Really?”

Usopp laughed a fake laugh, carefully dabbing up the soup from his suit. Fortunately for him, Sanji just came up to him, holding a bag of frozen peas. Thankful, Usopp placed them on his groin.

“You better eat those when you’re done with them,” the blond said threateningly.

“Please, let me have a look,” Kaya said. “Cooling it is good, but you should take off your pants.”

“Let’s get you to the bathroom, Usopp-bro.” Franky got up from his chair and helped the bright red curled haired man up. “I highly doubt that Sanji-bro would appreciate it if you lowered your pants in public.”

Shaking his head, Sanji watched the three of them leave, before turning to the table, standing next to Zoro. “Is everything to your liking?”

“These appetisers are rather small,” Zoro commented.

The blond turned around brusquely. “I was asking the ladies, moss-for-a-brain! I don’t care what you thi–”

His rant was interrupted by the green haired man pulling at his tie and their lips met. Bright red, Sanji didn’t know what to do at first. After what seemed like hours, he finally scrambled his brain together, kicking Zoro in the ribs with so much force the chair he was sitting on fell over. “What the hell are you doing, you fucking bastard?” he yelled. Realising the entire restaurant was staring at him, he fixed his tie a little embarrassed and said: “I seem to have dropped something.” With that, he left for the kitchen.

Zoro scrambled to his feet snickering, setting back his chair. It had been worth it, even if he had to put up with Ace’s suggestive eyebrow wiggle. Robin chuckled behind her hand.

Nami sighed. “Geez Zoro, you go pretty far just to annoy him.”

* * *

The kitchen was a chaos, but that was nothing unusual. Sanji avoided the knives and fists flying around to check up on Luffy. The black haired boy was contently licking a plate clean, only to place it on a pile with equally licked ones. “Oi, Sanji!” he yelled enthusiastic. “These are clean.”

The blond stopped in his tracks. “Please don’t tell me that is how you clean the plates. I told you to place them in the dishwasher!”

Luffy cocked his head. “Did you?”

Sanji groaned and rubbed his temples. He should have known better than to expect Luffy to listen after the word ‘food’ was mentioned. “Is that how you clean them at home?”

“Nami says I’m not allowed to,” he pouted. “She says it’s unhygienic or something. But look, they’re clean!”

The chef could only pray none of Luffy’s so-called clean plates had been served to the guests. He took a deep breath and walked to the dishwasher. “Look, I don’t care if you lick them clean, as long as you put them in the dishwasher _after_. I’ll show you one more time, alright?” This time, fortunately, the boy did seem to pay attention. Only now, he noticed the bump on Luffy’s head. Carefully, he examined it. It looked fresh, so it wasn’t the lovely Nami who gave him a well-deserved smack. “What happened?”

“He was trying to steal the costumers’ food,” Patty grouched, just walking past with a pan.

“Dammit, Luffy,” Sanji sighed. “I told you to behave. I already promised you the leftovers.”

“But it smelled so good,” the boy whined. He had just picked up the pile of ‘clean’ plates to place them in the dishwasher.

“By the way, your godfather’s here,” Sanji remarked. It was useless to reprimand him anyway.

“Shanks is here?!”

With a deafening clattering, the pile of plates fell on the floor, each one of them shattered as Luffy bolted out of the kitchen. Groaning, Sanji started to clean up. This was coming out of the boy’s salary.

After having thrown away the shatters of the plates and having argued with Zeff because the old fart just had to nag, Sanji decided to check up on Usopp. He found his friend in the men’s room, the frozen peas pressed to the burn and Kaya sitting on her knees in front of him. Franky was shielding the architect from unwanted visitors. “Really, Usopp-bro, you can borrow my pants if you like,” the contractor said.

Sanji sighed. “Please keep your pants on, Franky.” Why the blue haired man insisted to walk around in just a speedo at work was beyond him, but then only his co-workers were present anyway. The blond didn’t want the man to scare away any customers. He shook his head. “How does it look?”

Kaya looked up. “It’s good it has been cooled right away, but I really think he should see a doctor.”

“I can take you, bro,” Franky offered.

The architect winced in pain, but still said: “What about Robin, then? And your night out?”

“I’m really sorry, Usopp,” Kaya said softly.

Sanji looked from one to the other, his eyes resting on the woman. “Do you have your driver’s licence, my dear?”

Surprised she looked up. “Y-yes. I have. Why?”

The chef pulled his car keys from his pocket and handed them to her. “Take him to the emergency room.”

“But I have to work,” she protested.

“He’ll feel the most comfortable with you, won’t you, Usopp?”

On his friend’s face a strange mixture of gratitude and pain could be read.

Sanji turned to Kaya. “Don’t worry, my dove. We’ll manage without you. Although, of course you will take a piece of my heart with you~”

* * *

The rest of the night elapsed relatively peaceful. Franky helped Usopp to Sanji’s car, followed by the worried Kaya and Chopper. The brown haired boy only returned to the table with the contractor when Usopp had promised to call once he got home.

After having chatted with Shanks for a while, Luffy was sent back to the kitchen, which he did without complaining – but not before having tried something of everyone’s plate at his friend’s table.

Without Kaya, Sanji had to work even harder and didn’t have time to take breaks. He had sent another waitress to wait on his friends, a lovely girl called Camie – if only her hair didn’t remind him so much of the marimo.

Sanji managed to squeeze in one smoke break, where he was accompanied by Benn and there had been an awkward silence between them. He had no idea what to talk about and it didn’t help that the grey haired man was so broad and intimidating. Fortunately, Benn wasn’t one for small talk and they finished their cigar and cigarette in silence.

After the quick smoke, Sanji was bouncing around again, advising wines, serving dinner and complimenting the ladies. When he had a moment, he dashed off to the kitchen to stir or chop something, only to be kicked out by Zeff. His adoptive father wasn’t pleased he had sent one of the waitresses away and was trying to make his life hell. Well, more than usual.

When he was dashing past his friends’ table again, Zoro caught his wrist. He was about to yell at him to let him go – accompanied by some obscenities – when the green haired man suddenly jammed a fork full of food in his mouth. As food was never to be wasted, he chewed and swallowed, only now realising he was hungry. Still, he kicked the marimo in the head, if only for good measure. But he did take the piece of bread Zoro put in his hand and chewed on it on his way to the bar – discretely of course, he didn’t want to look unprofessional.

The next short break he managed to squeeze in, was to go to the bathroom. While washing his hands, he heard the door opening. Turning around, he saw Zoro standing with a smug smile. “What?” he snapped.

With confident strides, Zoro walked over to him. “Nothing. Just haven’t got any alone time with you tonight.”

“That’s ‘cause I’m busy working, Moss Ball.” Still, he couldn’t help the embarrassed flush on his cheeks.

“Then why are you in the guests’ bathroom?”

“The staff bathroom isn’t finished yet.” Sanji fixed his hair in the mirror. “No reason to postpone the opening.” In the mirror, he saw Zoro wrapping his arms around his waist and his own flustered cheeks. “Will you stop it? What if someone walks in?”

Zoro made an annoyed sound and before the blond knew what was happening, the green haired man had pulled him in a toilet booth. He closed the door behind them.

“What the hell are you doing, Mari–” His sentence was cut short when hungry lips met his. Involuntarily, he opened his mouth when the swordsman asked for entrance. It wasn’t that he liked it. No way. And certainly no needy whine escaped him when Zoro let go of him.

The swordsman smirked. “Missed me?”

“Who would miss you?” the blond snorted. “You get lost so often, nobody expects you to be there, anyway.”

“I don’t get lost,” Zoro snarled, but before he could continue, Sanji slapped his hand over the other’s mouth.

The door of the bathroom opened and someone walked over to the urinals. They heard a splashing sound and some off-key whistling, before the urinal was flushed. After washing his hands, the man left again.

The chef released a breath he didn’t realise he was holding. Frustrated, he rubbed his temples. “Fuck Zoro, I can’t do this…”

“Che, didn’t realise you were such a wuss.”

Sanji’s head snapped up at Zoro’s words. “What did you say?”

“You heard me. Why the hell do you care so much what others are thinking? More importantly, why the hell do you care what strangers think?!”

It was amazing to watch that even in the small booth, including two people and a toilet, Sanji still managed to lift his leg and kick Zoro in the chest. He did it with such force that the green haired man was launched backwards, ripping the door from its hinges and smacking against the opposite wall right next to the sinks. He groaned as he got up, leaving a dent in the tiled wall.

Sanji straightened his jacket and left the men’s room. Obviously, the dinner guests had heard some commotion, because everyone was staring at him, having stopped eating. So he put up his polite smile and said: “I dropped something again. Bon appetit.” After that, he made his way to the kitchen.

People who had hoped for a quiet evening out, were out of luck; every time a waiter or waitress left the kitchen, loud yelled obscenities could be heard.

Zoro had made his way back to the table again, rubbing his sore shoulders.

Nami sighed. “Did you fight with Sanji again?”

The green haired man shrugged. “Not my fault he’s such a priss.”

He had barely said it or the kitchen door was thrown open again and Sanji walked to their table. He glared daggers at Zoro, before stopping next to Franky. “May I borrow you for a moment?”

“Sure, Sanji-bro.” The contractor got up and followed the blond to the men’s room. Seeing the mess, he scratched the back of his head. “What happened here?”

The chef couldn’t look him in the face. “Marimo annoyed me.”

“I thought that dent was Zoro-shaped,” the blue haired man laughed. But then his face got serious again. “Not cool, Sanji-bro. We worked hard on this.”

“I know. I’m sorry. Can it be fixed?”

Franky crouched down by the dent. “Yeah, this shouldn’t be a problem.”He got up again and picked up the door, which was still lying on the floor. “This is SUPER easy to fix. But, wait… The door was kicked down from the inside. And if you were kicking Zoro–”

“If you can be discrete about this, I’ll throw in your meal for free,” Sanji interrupted him, his face the colour of a tomato.

The blue haired man smirked. “What about the Mrs?”

The blond sighed. “Of course Robin-chwan can eat for free as well. You drive a hard bargain.”

Franky laughed and struck a pose, pointing his muscular arms up diagonally. “I will be here at nine tomorrow to fix it.”

Sanji thanked him and waited until the blue haired man had placed the cabin door before the large dent, before following the contractor out of the men’s room. When they arrived at the table again, they were awaited by a pissed off Zeff.

“Dammit old man, I told you I would take care of it!” Sanji snapped.

“Like I can trust a good-for-nothing such as yourself to do anything,” the older chef snorted. “The damage is coming out of your pay check. And you, grass hopper,” he turned to Zoro and the green haired man cringed a little. “You’re gonna help out.”

“Wha–? I didn’t even do anything,” the swordsman started to protest, but he was dragged by his ear towards the kitchen, while cursing Sanji and being followed by the sound of snickering from his friends. He would kill them later.

The rest of the evening, Sanji and Zoro both spend waiting and cleaning up tables, every now and then glaring at each other. The restaurant slowly became more and more empty. The friends had finished their meal and were enjoying a cup of coffee or tea when Sanji brought the bill over.

Franky picked it up, whistling. “That’s some amount. We agreed on going Dutch, right? Good news, honey, we don’t have to pay.”

Robin chuckled, but Nami exclaimed indignant: “Eh? Why don’t _they_ have to pay?”

“I struck a deal with Sanji-bro.” Franky winked.

Nami turned around in her seat, looking up to the blond chef with her big, beautiful brown eyes. “Ah, Sanji-kun~ Do I have to pay?” She pushed her bosom up a little further.

Sanji swooned. “Of course not, Nami-swan!”

“So, Vivi is the only one of the girls who has to pay?” Kohza asked sharply.

“Of course you don’t have to, my beautiful princess~” the blond fawned over the blue haired woman.

Nami snorted. “Please, she could pay the entire bill. She’s loaded.”

“So are you, miser,” Ace shot back, only to receive a hit in the head by Sanji.

“Don’t you talk to her like that!”

Brook took a sip of his tea. “I wish I had a bosom, so I wouldn’t have to pay either. But alas, I’m hardly more than bones as it is! Yohoho!”

It ended in a fierce discussion of who would pay the bill and whether or not the cook was stupid, as soon as Zoro mixed in the conversation. Luffy ended up joining in too, because apparently it was “fun”.

Eventually, Sanji’s eyebrow started to twitch and he slammed his fist on the table. “Will you shut up, you damn pirates?!”

It stayed quiet for a moment, until Marco, who had stayed out of the discussion for the most part, suddenly burst out into laughter. All eyes landed on the arson inspector. Ace seemed to get the joke as well, as he too started to snicker. Marco noticed people looking at him and tried to calm down. “I’m sorry, family joke,” he muttered a little embarrassed.

Sanji shook his head. “Well, I don’t care who pays, but no one is leaving until this is taken care off.” He tapped on the piece of paper lying on the table.

“Put it on my card.”

Surprised, Sanji turned around and took the card Shanks was holding out. “Are you sure?” He handed the bookstore owner the bill.

The man took a few seconds to look it over and then grabbed his hair. “Good grief, what the hell have you been eating?” Then he shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I’d like to pay for Benn and me as well.”

“Thank you, Shanks, you’re a lifesaver,” Nami said, fluttering her eyelashes.

The red haired man waved and followed Sanji to the cash desk.

* * *

Finally, the last guest had left. The floor had been vacuumed, the tables and the kitchen had been cleaned. Zeff had called all employees together, including Zoro, and now they were waiting expectantly on what he had to say. Well, the new employees did. Zeff stood in front of them, frowning and with his arms folded before his chest and glaring everyone down. Eventually, he snorted and walked away.

“Eh? That’s it?” Luffy dared to ask.

Sanji gave him a kick in the shin. “That means ‘good job’. Believe me, if he wasn’t pleased, you would know.”

The black haired boy shrugged and left with Camie, whom he had made friends with, as she had offered him a lift.

Zoro was on his way of leaving as well, when he felt someone grabbing his wrist. Sanji was standing behind him, biting his lip. “I… I could use a ride…”

The corners of the green haired man’s mouth curled into a smirk. “Well, maybe I should give you one…”

* * *

Clothes were discarded on the floor as soon as the door fell shut. Sanji made his way up the stairs walking backwards, being let by Zoro, so they ended up in the bathroom first before finding the right room – despite that it was the marimo’s house.   
Sanji ended up on his back on the bed, already naked when Zoro took a position between his legs and moved his head down. The blond closed his eyes when he felt the hot cavern close around him. It took a lot of his will power and the swordsman’s bruising grip not to thrust up his hips. Though they had only given each other hand jobs before this night, Sanji couldn’t feel weird about this. In fact, it took him back to the night they met, even if his memory was a little blurry. He did still remember the carpet beneath his bare back, the warmth of the fire, Zoro’s mouth…

He arched his back in pleasure when his green haired lover swallowed around him. The swordsman was so good at this… But he guessed that made sense, since Zoro insisted to keep one sword in his mouth when he fought, he had an incredibly strong tongue. Said organ was pressed against the vein on the underside of his cock and Sanji saw stars.

So much time had passed since that first night. If someone had told him then that he would end up lying naked in Zoro’s bed, begging for more, he would have laughed in their face – or more likely, kicked them there. But yet, here he was.

His fingers entangled with the short green strands, trying to push Zoro’s head down. The green haired man gave his thighs a reproving squeeze. But the blond hardly felt it. Pleasure was pooling in his belly and he knew he wasn’t going to last long. Briefly wondering if he should warn his lover, Sanji’s grip on Zoro’s hair tightened, before his back arched and he came.

The swordsman sat up, wiping his mouth and watched his lover catch his breath. He actually didn’t mind pleasing the blond, in fact, he enjoyed it very much. The noises Sanji produced were almost enough to do him in.

He looked up surprised when the chef got up from the bed and left the room, only to come back a few moments after. A little disappointed Zoro watched him hoist up his boxer. “Were are you going, Cook?” He tried not to sound bitter, but failed miserably.

The blond held up a square object. “I’m going to the balcony for a smoke. Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about Little Marimo.”

A smirk appeared on Zoro’s face, despite the ridiculous nickname for his cock. After putting on his own underpants, he followed the cook to the balcony, where he watched the man put a cancer stick in his mouth and breathing in contently. His cock twitched in anticipation, while he imagined all the wonderful things that mouth could do to him. After a few minutes, he couldn’t take it anymore and pushed the blond against the wall, kissing him violently. The chef tasted like tobacco, spices and just Sanji. The blond sighed into their kiss, wrapping his arms tightly around Zoro’s neck.

From the corner of his eyes, the green haired man noticed a movement. On his neighbour’s balcony a wide-eyed Chopper was standing, his jaw practically hitting the floor. He obviously tried to hide, but like usual, it was the wrong way around, actually pushing himself up on the fence instead of crouching down.

Without breaking the kiss, though turning Sanji a little so he wouldn’t notice the boy if he opened his eyes, Zoro gestured downwards with his hands. Chopper seemed to understand him, crouching down, before sneaking back into the house again.

Sanji hadn’t noticed the boy, fortunately. If the blond still didn’t want strangers to know, he probably wouldn’t be happy if their friends did. Even though at least half of them already had an idea. But for now, it didn’t matter. Zoro’s member demanded his attention and he pushed Sanji back inside.

The chef flicked the remainder of his cigarette away – he really needed to put an ashtray around here – before the green haired man pushed him roughly on the bed. His lips were captured as Zoro climbed on the mattress as well and made himself comfortable against the headboard. In one swift movement, he pulled off his boxers, finally letting go of Sanji.

“Well Cook, time to show what that mouth is capable off,” he said with a wicked grin.

The blond was glad it was dusky in the room, so the other man couldn’t see his flushed face. “You want me to…” He gestured vaguely to Zoro’s crotch.

“Suck me off.”

“Don’t say it so bluntly,” Sanji snapped.

“Che, didn’t know you were such a prude…”

The blond looked away. “I’m not… But…”

Zoro placed his hands behind his head and sighed. “There’s a first time for everything. And lucky for you, I’m a very patient man.”

Sanji swallowed and was about to lean over when the swordsman suddenly stopped him. “Just remember,” he hesitated, “no teeth.”

The blond rolled his eyes. “Geez, thanks. I didn’t think you might not like someone biting your dick.” Still, the mood had changed and Sanji was less nervous now. He was gonna give that damn bastard the best blowjob of his life.

He covered his teeth with his lips and carefully took the tip of Zoro’s waiting member in his mouth. It felt weird. Experimentally, he have a quick lick. The swordsman groaned, while the blond examined the taste. It was a bit salty, bitter and something he, even as a cook, couldn’t place. Something he tasted in Zoro’s mouth as well as they were kissing and he subconsciously had dubbed ‘Zoro’. He tried to see how much could fit in his mouth, but gagged when the head hit the back of his throat. He pulled back, wiping his mouth and coughing. But when his gaze flicked up to Zoro, he froze. Chest heaving with the deep breaths he was taking and a thin layer of sweat covering his skin, the swordsman looked at him, his pupils blown with arousal.

Sanji lowered his eyes. “Geez Marimo, don’t look at me like that…”

“How would you prefer me to look at you,” he purred in a husky tone that sent shivers down the cook’s spine.

“S-shut up,” he muttered, before focusing on the task at hand again. Again, he closed his mouth around the swordsman’s erection, taking in as much as he could without gagging. It didn’t fit entirely – why did he have to be so big? – so he wrapped his hand at the base and started pumping. Set upon drawing out as many sounds from the stoic marimo as possible, he bobbed his head up and down in rhythm with the strokes of his hand. He was rewarded by a few gasps and pants, but not nearly enough to his liking. So he decided on a different approach, swallowing around the leaking member. He almost immediately regretted it, as Zoro’s steady hips suddenly snapped up. Sanji pulled back, proud he could pull out a reaction like that.

The swordsman moaned. “That’s enough for today, cook.” With his large hand, he started to stroke himself, soon reaching his peak.

The blond watched in awe how Zoro’s cum splattered over his stomach. Though he felt a little insulted that the green haired man hadn’t let him finished what he started – patient? Yeah, right – but he assumed this was probably Zoro’s way of being considerate.

Only now, he realised how tired he was. Fortunately, the green haired man didn’t seem to have any wild plans either, as he pulled the blond close, wrapping his arms tightly around him. Soon a soft snoring filled the room.


	18. Chapter 18

Opening his eyes, the first Zoro was met with was a blond head of hair. That wasn’t uncommon the past couple of days, but it still made him smile. Last night, they had made some progress in their relationship.

As if the blond could hear him, the body next to him started to shift. Sanji sat up a little, still groggy with sleep and went with his hand through his hair, miraculously never revealing the hidden eye.

“Morning,” Zoro said, clearly startling the other man.

“Why are you up already? I thought moss liked to sleep all day.” Sanji’s voice was a little hoarse.

“Someone was drooling on me.”

“I don’t drool!” the blond snapped.

Zoro was planning to retort, when Sanji slapped his hand over the swordsman’s mouth. He looked confused, until he noticed the faint sound of a cell phone going off.

Sanji cursed and leaped out of bed, franticly searching for his pants. He finally managed to retrieve his phone, paling as he saw who called. “Hello?”

“Sanji-bro, where the hell are you? I told you I would be at the restaurant at nine. I’m waiting SUPERR long already.”

The blond checked the time, it was a quarter past nine, so the constructor wasn’t waiting _that_ long, but he was late and he hated to be late. “I’m sorry,” he quickly apologised. “I overslept. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” After hanging up, he ran towards the bathroom, not bothering to lock it as he jumped in the shower.

Zoro entered the steamy room yawning. “What’s all the fuss, Cook?”

“I was supposed to be at the Baratie a quarter of an hour ago. It’s all your fault, Moss-head!” the blond snapped, turning off the shower and grabbing a towel.

“How is it my fault?” The green haired man smirked. “Did I blow your mind too hard last night?”

“Shut up, you pervert,” Sanji muttered. “I have to go. I’m sure you can manage to make your own breakfast for once. Bye.” Wrapping the towel around his hips, he gave Zoro a quick peck on the lips, freezing instantly. That was… weird. Way too domestic.

Remembering he was already late, he dashed out of the bathroom, leaving Zoro behind stunned, scrambling his clothes together and putting them on, before running out the front door. Miraculously, a bus stopped almost right in front of him. In all, he managed to make it to the Baratie in twenty minutes.

Franky was sitting on the sidewalk, straightening when he saw the chef approach. “Hey Sanji-bro,” he greeted him, seemingly not mad. “Glad you made it.”

“Yeah, sorry I’m late.” The blond got out his keys and opened the front door.

“Don’t worry about it. Though,” the blue haired man continued with a grin, “you must have been pretty tired last night for you to sleep in. Since you normally don’t do that.”

Sanji ignored the suggestive eyebrow waggle and led the way inside. The Baratie was only open for lunch and dinner, though Zeff was considering opening it for breakfast as well. But for now, they were the only two here.

“I didn’t get the chance to eat breakfast, so I’m gonna whip something up,” Sanji said. “You want something as well?”

“Like I would ever turn down one of your SUPER meals.”

Sanji smiled and entered the kitchen, leaving the constructor to do his job. There were still building materials in the back, so Franky had everything he needed.

In the kitchen, Sanji gave his thoughts free rein. Giving Zoro head had been a major step for him. He was coming more and more to terms with himself, accepting he liked a man, Zoro no less. He wasn’t ready to proclaim it from the rooftops yet, though. And not just because he didn’t know how his friends would react. True, Franky must have some idea what was going on, but that was where he drew the line.

His phone vibrated and he picked up after checking the screen, placing the phone between his ear and his shoulder while whisking some eggs for an omelette. “Hey, Usopp. Anything fallen off yet?”

His friend on the other end of the line huffed. “No. Thanks to Kaya’s care and your frozen peas, the burns aren’t that bad. I just need to keep some rest.”

“Then I suppose it’s a good thing you and Kaya aren’t dating yet, isn’t it?” The blond wiggled suggestively with his eyebrows, realising too late Usopp couldn’t see him. But his friend could hear his teasing tone.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the architect stammered embarrassed.

Sanji snickered, while his friend collected himself.

“Anyway,” Usopp continued, “Kaya wanted to know if it was okay if she takes your car to the restaurant tonight. Also, thanks for letting her borrow it and giving her time off. Her words.”

“Anything for my lovely angel~ She can borrow it for as long as she likes.” Sanji practically swooned, almost dropping his phone in the eggs.

“Yeah, yeah. Oi Sanji,” the blond perked up at the sudden seriousness in his friend’s voice, “Chopper called me last night. Is there something you need to tell me?”

For a moment, he was confused. Not that Chopper had called Usopp, those two were friends, so that was to be expected. But what could the doctor-to-be have told the architect that would make him think Sanji had something to tell him?

Suddenly, he remembered Zoro kissing him in the restaurant. He had kicked the green haired man – served him right – but what if that made Chopper think he and the Moss-head were involved? Not that that was far from the truth, but still. Realisation hit him like a bucket of cold water. Chopper lived next door to Zoro. What if… What if he had heard more?

“Sanji?” Usopp’s voice reminded him that his friend was still there.

“I-I wouldn’t know what I would have to tell you,” the blond quickly said. “You just make sure your family jewels get some rest. I’ve gotta get back to making Franky’s breakfast. Bye.”

He hardly waited until the architect had muttered goodbye, obviously not satisfied with his reply. Sanji didn’t really care. He just wasn’t ready to tell.

* * *

Zoro was getting impatient. After Sanji’s attempt of giving head – it was a good first try, but the cook really needed more practice – they hadn’t really done much else. Plus, the blond kept swaying his ass around without allowing Zoro to touch it. At least not naked, and the green haired man wanted to do things with that naked ass very much.

Sanji was baking something in the kitchen. It smelled delicious, though Zoro would never admit it. Throwing aside his dumb-bells, the swordsman got up and followed his nose. It always amazed him how much Sanji was in his element around the kitchen. The blond had made sure Zoro stocked up on healthy food and ever since they got together, take-out food hadn’t been allowed in the house. Not that Zoro minded.

After watching his lover for a while, he moved to stand behind the cook, wrapping his arms around his slender body and nuzzling his nose in the golden strands.

“Not now, I’m busy,” the blond sighed.

Sanji bent over to open the oven. Zoro took a step back to appreciate the view and could hardly suppress a groan. Seriously, having an ass like that should be illegal…

The blond straightened again, holding a freshly baked bread. Carefully, he placed it on the counter and sighed when Zoro wrapped his arms around him again. Suddenly, he stiffened when he felt something hard against his ass. “What the hell is that?”

“You don’t know?” the swordsman all but purred in his ear. “You’ve even had it in your mouth.”

Sanji flushed slightly, but then said: “Just put it away.”

Zoro growled. “You know, I don’t enjoy lying to my friends, Cook, and I’d say I’ve been pretty patient. So the least you can do is make it worth my while.”

“You’re right.”

“And then another thing– Wait, what?” The swordsman looked confused.

“I said you’re right.” Sanji peeled off the oven mitts, something Zoro had never before considered to be sexy. “I’ve asked you to keep this from your friends, because of my issues. That’s not really fair. So how do you suppose I make it up to you?”

Zoro was completely dumbfounded. Was he serious? “I… I ‘d like to fuck you?” he stammered, utterly confused.

“I thought something like that. Come on, then. The bread has to cool down a little anyways.”

He was already at the door when he realised the marimo wasn’t following him. He turned around, only to find Zoro with his jaw practically hitting the floor.

“Are you serious?”

Sanji shrugged. “You never asked before.” He couldn’t suppress the smirk creeping up his face. “Now, I don’t have all day.” He started to make his way up the stairs. He turned around again, a little surprised the green haired man still wasn’t following him. “You coming?”

Zoro was still standing in the same spot, his arms crossed before his chest and if Sanji didn’t know any better he would think the man was actually pouting. “What?”

The green haired man scowled at him. “I don’t need your pity. And I’m not gonna do anything you’re not ready for.”

The blond sighed and walked back to the swordsman. The latter tried really hard to keep his scowl in place, but when Sanji kissed him, he relaxed. The kiss started out chaste, but suddenly, the blond’s tongue darted out briefly, teasing him. Zoro pulled him close, his hand on the chef’s back, to deepen the kiss. Sanji allowed him for a moment, before taking over control again. He gently sucked on the swordsman’s tongue, actually extracting some noises from him. Zoro’s hands slid up the blond’s thighs, but before he could reach his ass, his hands were slapped away. He let out a frustrated sound. Sanji ignored him, continuing to nip at the swordsman’s lips. Every time the green haired man tried to touch him, his hands were pushed away.

Sanji cupped Zoro’s cheek with his hand, kissing the tanned jaw and neck. His hands roamed the muscular torso, but still didn’t allow Zoro to touch him, pinning one of his wrists against a lower cupboard with his knee.

The swordsman was growing more aroused and more frustrated by the second. He growled dangerously, but Sanji ignored him and kicked him in the shin when Zoro tried to touch him again. Eventually, the blond let go and gave him a once over, a smirk on his face that indicated he was satisfied with his work. He turned around and made for the stairs, swaying his hips temptingly.

At first, the only thing Zoro could do, was stare at the retreating form of the chef. What just happened? Then, finally, his legs listened again and he ran after the blond, almost passing him in his excitement.

He pulled Sanji into his bedroom, kissing him fervently. Sanji chuckled at his eagerness. His actions from downstairs really did a number on the stoic swordsman. Entwining his fingers in the short green strands, he started to kiss back. He had caught Zoro staring at his ass more often than not, so he had already decided to indulge the man sometime soon. Zoro knew what he was doing, right? Plus, Sanji did appreciate it that Zoro hadn’t mentioned it to anybody – aside from the fact that Franky, and possibly Usopp and Chopper, knew already.

Sanji was thrown on the bed, his tie, jacket and shirt already somewhere forgotten on the floor. He was about to protest at the rough treatment – not because he couldn’t take it, just because it annoyed him – but Zoro already straddled him, never stopping to kiss him. Sanji wrapped his arms around his neck, moaning softly when the other man pressed his tongue in his mouth. The green haired man moved his lips to the pale neck, grinding his hips down at the same time.

Sanji was trying to hold back his moans, but he was having a hard time. In their previous encounters, Zoro had already discovered most of the places where he was sensitive, and even a few the blond didn’t know about himself. He was panting and it was not helping that the swordsman had started abusing his nipples.

Zoro couldn’t believe this was happening. He still half-expected Sanji to back out at the last moment. But the blond seemed fine, his cheeks red with arousal.

Both their pants were gone in no time, as were their boxers. Zoro got the lube out of his nightstand, smirking now he finally got to use it again. Not counting the times he had pleasured himself, of course. He looked at Sanji. The chef had his eyes closed, waiting. Zoro gave him a quick kiss, before lowering himself. It was going to be Sanji’s first time, he supposed, so no matter how badly he wanted to dive in – so to speak – he would have to take the time to prepare him. Slicking his fingers with lube, he let his tongue run up the blond’s erection, making him moan. Zoro had imagined the chef to be pretty vocal in bed, but Sanji had been holding back. But this time the swordsman wouldn’t allow that. Swallowing him whole, he pressed a finger in.

Sanji bucked his hips, his eyes screwed shut. Zoro was doing a pretty decent job distracting him, but still he felt the slight discomfort of the foreign object inside him.

“Relax,” the green haired man murmured against his cock, licking it soothingly.

“You’re one to talk. I don’t see anyone prodding at your ass,” Sanji snapped back.

Zoro couldn’t help but chuckle. It was such a typical reaction of the blond, even if he had a finger up his ass. Still, the cook did relax a little and soon Zoro deemed it time to add another.

Sanji let out a sharp hiss. The swordsman tried to distract him as much as possible, but honestly, it was getting hard. He needed to give some attention to his own neglected cock, and soon. He added a third finger, speeding up the process, when suddenly Sanji’s whole body shuddered.

The blond moaned loudly, torn between embarrassment that he actually made that sound and really, really wanting Zoro to do it again. His mouth betrayed him. “Holy fuck, do that again.”

The swordsman smirked at that. Sanji had tried to stay quiet and finally he had managed to make the blond cry out in pleasure. “Enjoying yourself?” he asked teasing, feeling the need to gloat.

Sanji glared at him and Zoro snickered. Still, he did as he was told. It took the green haired man some moving around and a remark from Sanji, saying: “Geez, are you lost in _there_?”, but he found it and hitting the blond’s prostate again effectively shut him up. For a while at least. Continuing his movements, Zoro look up to admire the view. And what a view it was. Sanji was panting, his eyes closed and his pale skin glistening with a layer of sweat. His cheeks were flushed and bite marks Zoro had made earlier were showing. “Fuck, Sanji,” he breathed.

The blond’s eye fluttered open. The swordsman expected a snarky remark, but none came. He kept moving his fingers, not breaking eye contact, reaching out for the lube with one hand. Blindly, he searched for the condom he had thrown somewhere on the bed, ripping it open with his teeth after he had found it. Unfortunately, he did need two hands to get it out, putting it on and applying extra lube.

Sanji looked up annoyed when the fingers were pulled out of him, since he was enjoying himself. The green haired man kissed him again and the blond wrapped his arms around his neck, when he felt something larger than three fingers pushing its way inside of him. It felt he was ripped in two. Placing his hand against Zoro’s broad chest, he tried to push him off. The swordsman, however, used his upper body strength and gravity to his advantage and pushed the blond back on the mattress.

“I told you to relax,” Zoro said, but it was without any venom. He had stopped moving as soon as the blond had showed signs of pain. If Sanji didn’t know any better, he would say the green haired man was worried.

“And I told you it’s not you who’s getting a pole stuck up his ass,” the blond snarled. “Seriously, did you lift bar-bells with that as well?”

Zoro looked at him confused, before he burst out in laughter. “Can you imagine what that looks like?” he snorted.

“I’d rather not.” The chef scowled at him, but Zoro could feel the man’s body relax.

The swordsman started to kiss him again, distracting the blond for what was about to come. “You okay?” he muttered in the chef’s ear. “It’s gonna hurt a little.” He really wanted to push inside, but despite the thorough preparation, Sanji was still incredibly tight.

“Just hurry up, you bastard,” the blond mumbled. He had his arms wrapped tightly around the tanned man’s neck, holding on.

Zoro took a deep breath, reaching between them and caressing Sanji’s member. Having effectively distracted him, Zoro moved his hip and with one swift movement, he was inside. Sanji cursed, arching his back.

The swordsman was overwhelmed with the tight heat that surrounded him. He saw stars and needed a moment to catch his breath, certain that he would come if he moved right away. Waiting and giving Sanji time to adjust, he soothingly rubbed circles on the paler man’s neck.

The blond’s hips jerked, indicating he was ready for the swordsman to move. Zoro happily complied, having wanted this for a long time. He started out slow, but sped up when Sanji shot him a glance that said: ‘Don’t you dare treat me like glass.’

The chef started to get the hang of it as well, moving his hips at the same pace as Zoro’s. He was breathing heavily, a small moan escaping him every once in a while, but not nearly loud enough for the swordsman’s taste. He pushed Sanji’s amazingly strong legs up, changing the angle. It took him a few tilts – it was a good thing the chef was so lithe – but suddenly, the blond cried out in pleasure. A grin appeared on the tanned man’s face.

Sanji huffed and turned his face away, his eyes screwed shut when the swordsman repeatedly hit his prostate.

Blunt nails marked the swordsman’s back, as the blond threw his hips up, forcing Zoro deep inside him. Sanji was starting to lose it. Biting his lip, the cook reached between their bodies to give his own erection some much needed attention, only to have his hand batted away. A large calloused one encircled his cock, causing him to throw his head back. He had to admit, after the initial pain, it actually felt pretty good to have Zoro moving inside him. And if that wasn’t enough, now the green haired man was jerking him off as well…

Sanji couldn’t take it anymore. The stimulation from both sides was just too much. It only took one more hit to his prostate for him to come, his back arching.

Zoro managed a few more thrusts, but the way Sanji clenched around him, already tight to begin with, soon did him in as well. He collapsed on top of the blond, who hadn’t yet come down from his own high.

The green haired man was actually thinking of falling asleep right there and then, when he felt a sharp kick in his hip. “Move, Moss-Head.”

Reluctantly, he did as he was asked, pulling off the condom in the meantime and throwing it in the bin. After that, he flopped down on the bed, feeling rather accomplished. He finally had actual sex with Sanji, and it had been great. Hell, it had been fucking fantastic. He was gonna have a lot of fun in the future. He watched the chef get up and getting a cigarette. The blond put on his boxers, getting out to the balcony. He should probably follow him.

* * *

When Sanji came back inside, he found Zoro lying snoring on the bed. “Idiot,” he muttered. Still, he couldn’t help but smile a little, said idiot couldn’t see him anyway. It was tempting to let himself fall on the bed as well.

But first the freshly baked bread should be put away. Slowly, because his body felt extremely sore, he made his way downstairs, the smile still present on his face. During the cleaning up of the kitchen, he hummed softly. But when he was done, doubtful thoughts entered his head. The smile disappeared from his face. Had he done the right thing?

He was pretty sure this was what Zoro had wanted since the day they met. So now that he had gotten what he wanted, would the swordsman still be interested? He tried to shove the small voice telling him that away. Yes, there were guys who only thought with their dicks, but not Zoro, right?

Yeah, because that Neanderthal was so sophisticated, the voice helpfully pointed out. Sure, they were friends, or so Sanji thought, but what if it had been all an act to get in his pants? And the worst part, it worked. Sanji had given in, actually feeling guilty! After all, before they went upstairs Zoro had told him to make it worth his while. Apparently, that could only be accomplished with sex.

And if the swordsman still was interested in him, what was their relationship anyway? They had said they were dating, but they had never actually gone out. And now there was this. Sex. It always complicated things. The blond didn’t want it to be just about sex. He actually kind of liked Zoro as a person – even if he would never admit that and kick the person who claimed it halfway around the globe.

And then his friends. Sure, Franky seemed to be okay with it – though he wasn’t sure what exactly the blue haired man thought was going on – but he didn’t know him that well. What would Usopp say? The architect seemed upset that Sanji was lying to him, but would he accept the truth?

Or worse! What would the girls think of him? Of course, they were all dating someone now, but it was only a matter of time before his lovely angels grew tired of those uncultured bastards and would grace them with their presence anymore. So the chef had to be there for them once they were finally fed up with it. What would they think if they knew Sanji had let a man fuck him?

At first, he tried to reason that since he always was the one making sure a woman was pleasured as much as possible, he sure as hell deserved that someone did that for him. But then he could see their disappointed faces before his mind’s eye, a slight shake of the head from Robin, a sigh from Nami, averting her eyes, Vivi, looking at him disbelieving, before covering her face with her hands, Kaya in tears…

His hand touched his stomach, still sticky from a mixture of cum and sweat. Suddenly, the blond started to panic. He had made a major mistake. Hastily gathering all of his clothes, he ran out the door, without waking the marimo and without leaving a note.

* * *

The other chefs could all feel the murderous aura radiating off him and backed off instantly. Even Zeff left him in peace for the most part. It was lunch and rush hour, so only orders were placed in front of him, before the chefs or waiters backed off. Some had asked about his limp and he had snapped that he tripped and hurt his ankle. Patty had dared to laugh at his clumsiness, even if it was imaginary, but he had regretted it, a few knives breaking in the process. Zeff had narrowed his eyes, but only told Sanji to replace them. He obviously knew something was bothering his little eggplant.

Zoro had called and texted him several times, but he hadn’t bothered to answer. So the texts didn’t say what he had expected, but even the moss-head would be more mature than to break up via a text. But he dreaded the call. He didn´t need to hear that he´d been a nice fuck and to have a nice life. He would just forget it happened and move on. Yes, that would be the best thing to do. Still, he had trouble focusing on the task at hand, namely cooking.

After the lunch rush had died away, Zeff had grown tired of his sulking and kicked him out. He hadn’t even put up much of a fight, another reason the older chef felt like he made the right decision. Lighting a cigarette, the blond strolled over to his car, that Kaya had been gracious enough to bring by. He drove home almost in trance. Fortunately, there wasn’t much traffic and he made it home in one piece. He reached into his pockets to look for his keys, but suddenly, being alone in his home didn’t look all that appealing anymore. Lighting another cigarette, he turned around and started to walk away. Walking around usually helped him to clear his head. He didn’t know where he was going, and the walk would have been way nicer if it wasn’t for the throbbing pain in his ass. Damn marimo bastard.

He shook his head. He didn’t want to think about Zoro. Unfortunately, every step reminded him of what they had been doing last night. He could only hope the pain would fade soon.

His aimless walk brought him to the house of the D-brothers. He cursed under his breath. The last thing he needed right now was Luffy nagging him about food or Ace’s obvious innuendos. The latter was actually sitting on the bench in front of the house, snoring. Hopefully, Sanji could just slip past the house without waking him.

But obviously, the universe hated him. He almost made it, having reached the corner, when a voice called him: “Oi, Sanji!”

He froze, opting if he could just make a run for it. But the pain in his ass did not allow that and besides, Ace knew where to find him and it would only give him a temporary reprieve. So he turned around slowly, forcing a smile on his face. “Hey, Ace.”

The fireman was standing by the fence, leaning on it with his elbows. “How are you?”

“I’m fine. Look, I’ve got to go now...”

“What’s the rush? Come on, we haven’t talked in ages. Wanna come in? Luffy’s not home.”

Sanji thanked his lucky stars for that. As much as he liked the bouncing rubber ball, right now it would be too much. Still, he hesitated.

Ace frowned. “Something wrong?” He jumped over the fence and grabbed Sanji’s sleeve, pulling him along. “Come on, you look like you really need to talk.”

Sanji didn’t have the energy to protest and just let himself be dragged along. Inside, Ace got them both something to drink and set the blond down on the couch. “Now,” he said, folding his legs underneath his body. “You didn’t have fun last night?”

Sanji froze again, wondering if this was an innocent question or an innuendo the fireman was famous for. His question was quickly answered when the freckled man smirked. “I know that limp from anywhere.”

The chef flushed, looking away. Ace knew as well?

“Zoro didn’t tell me, if that’s what you’re worried about. Didn’t have to, I’m good at stuff like that. Oi,” he continued a little worried when Sanji still refused to look at him, “are you okay? It’s normal for it to hurt after the first time.”

The chef stared at the floor. “I know.”

“Then what is it? I know for a fact that Zoro’s very talented between the sheets, so that can’t be it.”

That was right. Ace had slept with the swordsman as well. Great.

“He didn’t force you to anything, did he?” the fireman said frowning. “I can’t imagine, but–”

“He didn’t force me,” Sanji suddenly snapped. “If he did, I would kick his ass.”

The freckled man grinned. “That’s the Sanji I know. So what’s the problem, then?”

The chef turned to Ace. His friend looked genuinely concerned about him. So he sighed and decided just to let it out. Who knew, maybe it helped. “I’ve messed things up. After… _that_ , I started to doubt things and I left without saying anything. Whatever it was is now over. So nothing is wrong, things worked out just fine.”

Ace’s face was completely serious, a sight Sanji hadn’t seen often. “And you’re really fine with that?”

“I’m sure _he_ is,” Sanji said.

“What do you mean?”

The blond sighed. “Zoro isn’t one for relationships. And he got what he wanted. So we’re done.”

“Is that what you honestly believe?”

Sanji looked up. Ace almost looked… angry. “Well…”

“My God, you really are a moron. Sure, Zoro doesn’t date a lot of people, but do you really think the guy who hasn’t had sex since the day he met you, which was _months_ ago, I might add, is only after you for the sex?” the raven haired man burst out. “You have a great ass, Sanji, but nothing to get _that_ obsessed over. Zoro’s an attractive guy, he can get anyone.”

“And I gave in.”

Ace made a frustrated sound. “Geez Sanji, I always thought Zoro was the biggest idiot I knew, aside from my brother, but you’re really giving him a run for his money now. So let me spell it out for you: he likes you.”

“Alright, let’s say that’s true,” Sanji flung back. “Let’s say that he’s actually more interested in me than just for sex. Then what? I already let him top and he doesn’t bottom…”

Ace raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think that?”

“He said so. With that Kid…”

“He slept with a kid?!”

Sanji frowned. “What? No! A guy named Kid, or something. He said they didn’t go well together since neither of them wanted to be bottom.”

The raven haired man thought for a moment, before he seemed to realise something. “Oh, that guy. In college, right? He was just trying to get a rise out of you. ‘Cause that was only one stupid drunk night, from what I’ve heard. Not even actual sex, just some awkward jerking off. Anyway, Zoro bottoms. But he only does it when he respects someone, either because they’re stronger or just as strong. Like you are.”

“I’m definitely stronger than he is,” Sanji mused.

Ace started to laugh. “I doubt he would agree, but he definitely respects you.”

The blond smiled, but suddenly his face turned serious. “So, wait. Did he let you top when you guys…”

“Nah, but we only just met. And I don’t mind bottoming,” the freckled man shrugged. “So, you feel better now?”

Sanji did, but he still wasn’t convinced. “But what would the girls say?” he whined.

“If they knew you’re dating Zoro? Well, Robin knows all, so she’s already informed, I’m sure. Vivi will be trilled, since she already thought you were dating. And despite all their banter, Nami only wants Zoro to be happy and if you make him that…”

Sanji squirmed a little. “But…”

Ace sighed. “There is only one thing you need to ask yourself. Do you want to be with Zoro?”

It stayed silent for a moment. Then, Sanji nodded almost invisibly.

A large grin appeared on the freckled man’s face. “Good. Come on then.” He got up from the couch.

Sanji followed him warily. “Where are we going?”

The fireman turned around. “I’m gonna help you fix this.”

* * *

To say that Zoro was pissed was an understatement. And not just pissed, confused as well. At first when he woke up in an empty bed, he had assumed that the cook was taking a shower or preparing breakfast. But when he had found the vacant bathroom and kitchen, he had started to wonder. Then, he noticed that the chef’s shoes and coat were missing, so perhaps he went out to do groceries. He could have left a note then, but maybe the blond had thought he would be back before Zoro woke up. So the green haired man shrugged it off and texted Sanji not to forget to bring beer. Yes, it was morning, but it saved him a trip to the supermarket.

He waited for an hour, having taken a shower and gotten dressed in the meantime, but Sanji didn’t return or text him back. Zoro had frowned, calling the blond. Obviously, the idiot had gotten lost or something. But Sanji didn’t answer his phone either. Annoyed, Zoro texted the bastard to call him back. The chef had mentioned he had the lunch shift, which had already started.

Finally, the green haired man had reached a conclusion. Sanji wasn’t interested anymore.

The fickle blond probably regretted their night together. Or had he just been curious what it was like to sleep with a man? But why wait so long then?

Che, it wasn’t like he cared anyway. He had gotten what he wanted. He had fucked the blond’s tight ass and that was all that mattered.

So why did he feel so betrayed?

He spent the day _not_ thinking about that blond bastard, trying to take his mind off things by training until he nearly fainted. Right, he didn’t eat breakfast because of a certain someone.

He didn’t have much food in the house and he didn’t feel like doing groceries. He looked at the clock. In an hour or so, he could just order a pizza. For now, he would take a nap.

* * *

The sound of the doorbell started him awake. Grumbling under his breath, he got up, only realising at the last moment he hadn’t ordered anything yet. Curiously, he opened the door.

He was met by a very guilty looking chef, who was holding something that looked like a soup terrine. Ulg, he must have spent too much time with Sanji, because since when did Zoro knew what the hell a terrine was?!

Still, he wasn’t planning on playing nice, no matter how good it smelled and no matter how much his stomach rumbled. He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed before his chest and a scowl on his face. “What the hell do you want?”

Sanji bit his lip. “I made soup.” He held out the terrine.

“It’s a peace offer.”

Only now, he noticed a certain freckled man standing behind the blond.

“And what are _you_ doing here?”

Ace pushed back his orange hat. “I’m here as mediator, because you’re both idiots. Now are you gonna let us in? The soup’s getting cold.”

Reluctantly, Zoro stepped out of the way to let the other men pass. Sanji immediately made his way to the kitchen, to return with a tray carrying three bowls, a plate filled with bread – Zoro face palmed, how could he forget about the bread the blond had baked the night before? – and spoons. The swordsman didn’t even know he owned a tray.

They ate in silence. Ace and Sanji were seated on the couch, the latter staring down at his soup. Zoro sat in an armchair facing them.

As soon as Ace had gobbled up his soup – and his second and third serving – and the bread was consumed, he sighed contently, patting his belly, before switching to serious modus. “Alright, it seems like the two of you have a lot to talk about.” He leaned back, looking expectantly from one to the other.

Sanji remained silent and Zoro said: “I don’t have anything to talk about.”

Ace groaned and rubbed his temples. “My God, you’re both such stubborn idiots. Alright then, I’ll do the talking. So, you guys had sex, yes?”

Sanji flustered and Zoro looked away, slightly embarrassed.

The fireman rolled his eyes, but continued: “And after that, Sanji panicked and ran. Which is why Zoro probably feels betrayed. Am I correct so far?”

He got two slight nods. “Okay then. Zoro, did you force Sanji to do anything he didn’t want or wasn’t ready for?”

“Hell no! He was the one initiating the whole thing!” the swordsman snapped, jumping up.

Ace turned to Sanji, who was biting his lip. “I didn’t think it through,” the latter muttered.

“No, I think you thought it too much through afterwards. But let’s just forget everything that happened and all the bad decisions made. Sanji, you said you don’t want this to be just sex and you want a relationship, right?”

That made Zoro perk up and he looked at the blond. If possible, Sanji’s cheeks turned even darker under his stare. He nodded almost invisibly.

“Good,” Ace continued on a businesslike tone. “Zoro, do you want that as well?”

He stayed silent for a moment, looking at Sanji. Dark brown met blue. The blond’s eyes were filled with dread, hope and something that probably meant the chef would kick his ass if he gave the wrong answer. Finally, the swordsman said: “Che, only if the princess doesn’t run off every time we’ve had sex.”

“Like I will ever let you see me naked again, Neanderthal,” Sanji snapped back. They glared at each other, looking up annoyed when Ace had a laughing fit.

“I can’t believe you guys don’t realise how perfect you are for each other,” he hiccupped. Eventually, he pulled himself together and got up, standing next to the swordsman. “Alright, you two. Now kiss.” Without a warning, he pushed their heads together, causing their lips to meet.

Taking advantage of the situation, Zoro started to kiss the blond. Sure, Sanji was a priss, but he was Zoro’s priss. It didn’t take long for Sanji to respond, opening his mouth invitingly.

After a couple of minutes, they let go of each other for air. Zoro turned to Ace, who was sitting back on the couch with a large grin on his face. “You know, most people would get uncomfortable watching that.”

“Are you kidding me? It’s like watching porn.” Ace snickered. “Please, continue.”

Zoro glared at him. “Out.”

“Fine, I get the hint.” The fireman got up and made for the door.

“Ace?” Sanji called.

The freckled man turned around.

“Thank you.”

He grinned. “Sure. As long as you guys stop being idiots and _communicate_. It’s really not that hard.”

Both nodded obediently.

“Good.” A mischievous smirk appeared on his face. “And you know, if you’re ever looking for a third party, you know where to find me.” And he fled the house, before the sole of a shoe or a sword could connect with him.


	19. Chapter 19

“So, what do you want to do next?” Zoro asked after Ace had left.

Sanji hummed thoughtfully and then smirked. “I would like to fuck you. Since Ace said you do bottom.”

“What the hell does Ace know?” the green haired man snorted.

“Usually I would say ‘little’, but he seems to know quite a bit about stuff like this. And even if he were wrong, everything has a first, right?” He grinned. “I mean, I could just kick your ass and pin you down…”

“What was that? You want to try me, you skinny bastard?!” In the blink of an eye, Zoro had armed himself with the three swords he had attempted to kill Ace with a few moments ago.

Sanji didn’t need more encouragement, jumping to his feet and clicking his heels against the floor to check the sturdiness of his shoes, his hands in his pockets. He barely had the time to light a cigarette – so no stretches this time – when Zoro attacked. Fortunately, even though he was using his real swords, he used the blunt side of them and the blond stopped him easily. He took a lazy drag from his cigarette and blew a cloud of smoke in Zoro’s face. “That all you got?”

“I’m just getting warmed up, shit cook.”

The fight lasted for a while, but at some point the swordsman lost his swords and it became more of a wrestling match. The green haired man tackled the blond somehow, and they rolled around on the floor. Hands that previously were trying to hurt the other were now trying to feel as much as possible. Clothes were discarded here, and there and it wasn’t long before Zoro was lying on top of Sanji, both only wearing boxers and both panting and flustered. A victorious smile lay on the green haired man’s face. “So who beat who again?”

Sanji smirked. Zoro may have more upper body strength, but the idiot was no match for his legs. Without too much effort, he flipped them over, pinning the swordsman down with his powerful thighs. “I beat you,” he said triumphant.

Zoro growled, but it wasn’t in anger, Sanji could feel that very clearly. “Pervert. Are you getting turned on by getting your ass handed to ya?”

“No.” The green haired man sat up a little and let his hands run up Sanji’s pale thighs, groaning a little when he felt the powerful muscles flex.

“You got some kind of leg fetish?” But the blond’s voice came out raspy, his throat suddenly feeling very dry. It was weird to have Zoro worship his legs like that, but he couldn’t say he didn’t like it.

“Maybe… I’ve never felt legs like this, though.” The green haired man ran his hands up to only inches away from Sanji’s crotch, and a shiver went down the blond’s spine. Suddenly not really caring about their fight anymore, Sanji grabbed the back of Zoro’s neck and smashed their lips together.

Kissing, the swordsman squeezed Sanji’s legs, earning himself a groan. So the cook liked him touching his legs as well. Zoro opened his mouth when the blond nipped at his lips.

Sanji moved, moving back to sit between the green haired man’s legs and no longer pinning him down. Not that the latter had minded all that much. He used the chef’s movement to pull down his boxers, his own following soon after. The swordsman took both their erections in his hand and started moving up and down. Sanji moaned into his mouth, thrusting his hips forward. His deft fingers traced along the large scar on the tanned man’s chest, caressing and worshipping it just as much as Zoro had been doing with his legs. “I still can’t believe you survived something like this,” he whispered, his voice husky of arousal.

Zoro smirked, panting. “I don’t die that easily.”

The blond nodded. Suddenly, he batted swordsman’s hand away, the other complying confused, and pulled Zoro’s head to the side by the short green strands, attacking his exposed neck with kisses and nips. Zoro, surprised by the sudden action, but pleasantly so, allowed his lover to do as he wished, not even objecting when Sanji pushed him back on the floor. The paler man’s trail of kisses went down to the scarred chest. He let his tongue run along the largest of them, pleased with the shudder he received. Zoro wasn’t very vocal, but it seemed that even the stoic swordsman could get unwound.

The tanned man’s back arched beautifully when the chef started to suck at the scarred skin. One of his hands crept up and started to abuse one of Zoro’s nipples. The green haired man growled again, in the back of his throat. The cook never realised that a sound could turn him on like that. Deciding he wanted to hear more of it, he started to suck on the other nipple, in the meantime never stopping rubbing at the first. His free hand wandered across the rock hard abs. The night before the swordsman had showed him a good time – even if it hurt like a bitch in the morning – and he almost screwed it up, had not Ace intervened. So now he felt like he should return the favour.

“Fuck me,” a deep voice suddenly said, causing Sanji to look up from his actions.

“Wha–”

“I’m not gonna repeat myself,” Zoro snarled. “Take it or leave it.”

A smirk appeared on Sanji’s face. “Then I think I’ll take it.” While he said it, he grabbed Zoro’s neglected cock and squeezed it a little, earning himself a soft moan.

“You… You better get lube,” the green haired man panted, the usual scowl on his face.

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry. I know how much it hurt with it, I’m not gonna do anything without.”

Despite everything, Zoro smirked. “That’s just ‘cause of your virgin ass.”

“S-Shut up, asshole!”

Sanji straightened and attempted to go upstairs for the lube, when the swordsman said: “Just get some oil from the kitchen.”

The blond frowned. “I’m not gonna use my good cooking oil for that.”

“Don’t you mean mine?”

“You don’t use it, so I claimed it. Just be patient.” He ran upstairs, as fast as his current condition allowed him.

Zoro huffed and stared at the ceiling. Bastard better hurry up or he would start without him. Fortunately, those legs he admired so much were perfect for running and within a few moments, Sanji was back – though it still took too long for Zoro’s taste.

“Know what to do, Cook?” he asked with a sceptically raised eyebrow when Sanji knelt between his legs.

“Of course I do, shithead. It’s not my first time having sex, you know?” the blond spat at him.

“Oh? Didn’t think you would go anal with girls.”

The chef’s cheeks were bright red. “Don’t be disgusting.”

Zoro rolled his eyes. “Geez, I’m gay and even I know some girls like it up the ass. Now hurry up or I’ll do it myself.”

Sanji looked like he was about to spew an insult back, when his face suddenly turned thoughtful and he handed the green haired man the lube. “Do it.”

The tanned man started at the bottle dumbfounded. “What?”

“Do it. Prep yourself. I wanna watch.”

“Che, I don’t know if you’re just lazy or an incredible pervert.” Still, he took the bottle and pouted a generous amount of the content on his hand, coating his fingers. It had been a while since he did it himself, or since he had bottomed for that matter, so he started out slow. Pressing one finger in, he started to move it in and out. He huffed, breath heavy with arousal, and carefully looked up. Sanji sat on the floor a few feet away, leaning against the couch. He had lit a cigarette – having taken the liberty to smoke whenever he wanted in the swordsman’s house a few days ago – and watched Zoro’s movements with curious eyes. Zoro smirked to himself, the pervert was actually enjoying this.

He decided to kick it up a notch and added another finger. After having moved them in and out a few time, he started to spread them out in a scissoring motion. He heard a moan, which was most definitely not his own and looked up again. Sanji took a deep breath from his cancer stick, his face flushed. His hand was moving between his legs, soft, teasing touches, needing to give his erection some attention, but not wanting to come yet.

His blue eyes, blurry with arousal, looked up and locked with dark ones. Zoro continued his movements, changing the angle of his fingers a little, until he hit his prostate. Closing his eyes, he doubled over, a pleased sound rumbling through his chest.

Suddenly, he felt another digit entering him, which wasn’t his own. Opening his eyes, his lips were captured by a very turned on blond. Zoro must have an off day; he had never even noticed the man move closer to him. Deciding he didn’t care right now, the swordsman pulled out his own fingers and let Sanji take over. Lying back on the floor, he pulled the blond on top of him. “That’s enough,” he grumbled.

The chef hummed, but hit his prostate several times nonetheless. Zoro, who had been trying to open up the condom, let the small package fall on the floor when he closed his eyes in bliss again. Fuck, that felt good. Sanji’s fingers may be slimmer than his own, they were also longer and reached further inside him. Zoro picked up the condom package again, ripping it open with his teeth this time and sliding it around the chef’s aching cock.

“Impatient, are we?” Sanji said in that husky voice of his that screamed sex.

“Shut up and do it,” Zoro snarled. Yes, he was getting impatient. Just fingers didn’t feel like enough anymore.

Chuckling, Sanji applied some more lube on his erection, before positioning. Suddenly, he seemed to be doubtful. “Are you sure you’re ready?”

“If you don’t fuck me right now, I will shove my swords up _your_ ass,” Zoro growled out dangerously.

“Alright, alright.” The blond lifted up the tanned hips a little. Slowly, he started to push in. The tightness of the heat that surrounded him came unexpected. “Fffuck, Zoro.” After taking a few moments to calm himself, he pushed in completely.

Zoro had closed his eyes upon impact, panting. It really had been a while. A hand caressed the tensed muscles in his stomach. “You okay?” The blond seemed to be holding himself back, his jaw set, but still looking kind of worried.

The green haired man smirked. “Go for it.”

That was the only encouragement Sanji needed. Pulling out almost entirely, he slammed back in with all the force his legs could muster. Zoro’s hand clawed at the carpet, seeing stars. For someone who had never fucked a guy before, Sanji had perfect aim. Of course, it was probably by accident, but pleasurable nonetheless.

They soon found a rhythm, the swordsman’s hips meeting the blond’s thrusts. Sanji kept on hitting the right spot after Zoro’s first beautiful reaction. The chef moaned loudly, uncaring if the neighbours could hear them. It felt so good. No sex with a girl could match this, the tightness, the heat, the fact that he didn’t have to restrain himself by going slow. Zoro could take it, hell, he wanted it like this, if his frantic hip movements were anything to go by.

Sanji was getting dizzy, coming closer to his climax, as he blindly looked for Zoro’s neglected cock and started stroking it. The swordsman’s pace got erratic, not knowing which stimulation he wanted to feel more of. His face was completely flustered and he couldn’t help those few deep moans that fell from his lips.

The blond couldn’t take it anymore. Crying out Zoro’s name, he came, his hips still thrusting until the swordsman followed his example. Feeling completely spent, Sanji rolled off him, reaching for another cigarette while Zoro caught his breath. They lay in silence for a while, Sanji smoking, when the blond suddenly broke the silence. “You want to meet my old man?”

“Didn’t I already meet him?” Zoro asked with a frown.

“Yeah, but not as his chauffeur or some random idiot this time.” Sanji took a long drag from his cigarette. “I’d like him to meet my boyfriend.”

* * *

Sanji had called Zeff to tell he would come over for dinner, and that he would bring a date. At that, the older chef had sighed and snapped that Sanji better bring some good wine, since the restaurant owner would need that. The younger blond had been tempted to say that, yes, he would need alcohol, but not for the reasons he assumed. He thought better of it though. He didn’t want to tell his foster father about his new found attraction to a man over the phone.

Zoro couldn’t help but feel a little nervous as well. Of course, he had already met Zeff, but under completely different circumstances. Besides, this was the first time he would meet the father of the guy he was dating anyway.

That didn’t mean, however, that the fretting cook didn’t annoy him. Sanji had been pacing up and down the whole time and had whined long enough for Zoro just to give in and wear something fancier than his usual outfit. The blond had been so irritating, that the green haired man actually was relieved when they were standing in front of Zeff’s door.

Sanji, however, was anything but. He was chewing his lip anxiously, craving his umpteenth cigarette of that day. He didn’t actually think that Zeff would judge him, but telling him would mean coming out, and that would mean this thing was real. No turning back.

Taking a deep breath, his finger hovered over the doorbell. No, he would go through with this. His insecurities and the thing with Ace had shown him what he would miss out on if he screwed it up. So he pressed the bell.

The waiting was agonising.

“Will you stop fidgeting?” Zoro finally snapped at him.

“Shut up. How did you feel when you came out to your father?” he snarled.

The green haired man shrugged. “I just said I was gay and he was cool with it.”

Sanji rolled his eyes. Really, what did a marimo know anyway?

Eventually, the telltale step-thud sound of Zeff approaching could be heard. Sanji braced himself and as soon as the door opened, he snapped: “About time, old man. You going deaf now?”

“I wish I was, then I didn’t have to listen to your obnoxious screaming all the time. I thought you would bring a new bimbo?” Zeff huffed.

The younger chef shoved the bottle of wine into his father’s hands. “I did,” he muttered.

Only now, Zeff seemed to notice Zoro. The older chef raised an eyebrow, while the green haired man tried not to break down under his gaze. Finally, after what seemed hours to both the younger men, Zeff snorted, and Zoro could relax. The older blond’s remark caught him off guard, however.

“It’s about damn time.”

“Time for what, shitty old fart?” Sanji snapped.

The older man rolled his eyes. “Time that you got your prissy act together and for him to get through his thick skull that staring at your ass all day wasn’t going to work.” Zeff kicked his son in the shin.

“Oi!” both the younger men said simultaneously.

Zeff just shook his head and walked inside the house, followed by a confused and indignant Sanji and Zoro.

“What the hell do you mean by that?” the younger blond snapped.

Zeff sighed and plucked his enormous moustache. “What did I tell you when you first introduced me to the grasshopper?”

“You called us an old married couple,” Zoro helpfully recalled. Sanji just glared at him.

“Right. Because back then, it was already pretty obvious you were right for each other. But then my idiot of a son had to be a princess about it and you,” he pointed at the green haired man, “weren’t doing anything. It’s a good thing that freckled friend of yours meddled, or else I would have to kick your asses myself.”

“Wait, Ace? How the hell do you know…?” Sanji started.

“He dropped off his brother for work and we got to talk. Seriously, be grateful to him. If it were up to me, my leg would be so far up your asses that you wouldn’t be able to roll around in the sack.” Zeff snorted.

Zoro stood with his mouth agape and the younger blond’s face had the colour of a tomato.

“Old fart!” he yelled embarrassedly. But his voice became soft when he continued: “So, wait. You knew?”

“It wasn’t too hard to guess. That Usopp-kid was right back then, you do look happy. Annoyingly so, but happy nonetheless. Well, until you had to be your idiot self again and screw things up. I’m serious, you should thank that freckled boy on your bare knees. Well, and then he told me about it. Though I hadn’t expected you to tell me voluntary this soon.”

Sanji could just stare at his foster father.

“You!” the chef with the moustache snapped at Zoro, “turn around and put your fingers in your ears.”

The green haired man looked confused. “What?”

“Did I stutter? Do it!”

Confused, Zoro did as him was told. Sanji was equally confused, both at his father’s command as about the fact that the marimo obliged without any argument. He was utterly baffled when suddenly Zeff pulled him into a hug and murmured: “I’m proud of you, eggplant.”

As soon as the affection started, it stopped and the older chef let go of Sanji. “I’m going to finish dinner now. Try not to dirty any of the furniture while I’m gone.”

“Shitty old fart!” Sanji yelled after him, blood risen to his cheeks. Then he just sighed and tapped at Zoro’s shoulder. The man was still turned with his back to him and had his fingers in his ears.

“So what did he do?” the green haired man asked when he had lowered his arms.

“Nothing.” The blond couldn’t help the blush that crept up his cheeks. “Just sit your ass down and I’ll get us something to drink.”

* * *

Dinner went by fairly quiet, aside from the occasional insult and kick under the table. Zeff actually complimented Sanji that the wine didn’t taste like shit, which resulted into more kicks and yelling. After dinner, the younger chef and Zoro did the dishes in silence. The blond handed the swordsman the wet plates, which the latter dried and piled up.

“How many, do you think, know?” Sanji suddenly broke the silence.

“Know what?”

“About us, you idiot. Since apparently, Ace has a big mouth.”

“I think he only told Zeff if he suspected that your dad already knew something or at least if Ace felt that it was safe to do so,” Zoro said pensive. “Other than that, I assume he told Marco as well. Chopper has seen us make out on the balcony…”

Cutlery clashed back in the sink as they slipped from Sanji’s fingers. “So he really did know!”

The swordsman raised an eyebrow. “How do you know he knew?”

“I got a phone call from Usopp, saying that he had talked to Chopper and asking me if there was something I needed to tell him.” Sanji leaned with his hands on the counter and groaned.

“So what did you say?”

“I denied it, of course. Franky already had a hunch as well, so…” He shook his head and seeing Zoro’s questioning look, he said: “The bathroom stall and the tiled wall you broke.”

“I broke?!”

“Whatever. So about half already knows or has an idea.”

“I’m pretty sure Robin knows as well.”

Sanji spun around. “No, not my Robin-chwan!”

Zoro rolled his eyes. “That woman knows all. And if not by her own deduction, I think Franky would have told her as well. Besides, what do you care? She’s probably just happy not to have you drool all over her.”

“I don’t drool,” the blond snapped. “And such news should be brought gently to such a delicate lady.”

The green haired man snorted at that. “Robin is all but delicate. Besides, if she knows, she probably let Nami and Vivi in on it as well.”

He saw the look of horror on his boyfriend’s face and decided to add a little extra. “And if Usopp knows, Kaya probably does as well by now. But fear not, I doubt Luffy knows, otherwise the whole city would have by now.” He smirked.

Defeated, Sanji let his head hung. “So that’s about everybody then. With an exception of Brook and Luffy.”

The swordsman shrugged. “If it makes you feel better, I haven’t told my foster father yet.”

The chef rolled his eyes at him. He dried his hands and let the dirty water flow away, while Zoro dried the last pieces of kitchenware. He leaned against the counter as he watched Sanji making coffee. “You know,” the blond said pensive, “maybe we should host a dinner party.” He looked up and his blue eyes pierced the swordsman’s. “To make it official.”

Zoro scratched the back of his head, a little taken aback by his seriousness. “Geez, I’m not gonna marry you or something.”

Sanji rolled his eyes. “I’m not proposing, you idiot.” He turned back to making coffee. “It just… It would be nice not to sneak around anymore.”

The green haired man bit back the comment that the cook was the one who wanted to keep it a secret in the first place, relieved that the blond finally had come around. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and kissed his hair. “Sure, let’s invite everyone.”

They brought the coffee into the living room where Zeff was waiting. After they had finished their beverages, Sanji went outside to smoke. Zoro wanted to follow him, dreading the idea of being alone with his sort of father-in-law, when a strong hand grabbed his shoulder. “Come with me for a moment, Grasshopper.”

Confused and a little scared, the green haired man followed up the stairs. He saw several doors there. One of them must be Sanji’s old room, he thought. He’d like to see that. Unfortunately, he was ushered into a different bedroom, Zeff’s. He dreaded his fate even more now.

“We don’t have much time before the little eggplant is done sucking on that cancer stick of his. Now, look under the bed,” Zeff ordered.

“You want me to check for… monsters?” the green haired man carefully asked.

He was rewarded with a sharp kick in the shin by the peg leg. “Don’t be a smart ass,” the chef snapped. “Get the envelope that’s under there.”

The swordsman did as he was asked. The envelope he retrieved was a large yellow one, with something inside.

“The string bean says you’re a private detective?” Zeff asked.

Zoro scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, I am. Though business is a little slow–”

“I want to hire you.”

“Wha…?”

“Look inside,” the chef ordered.

The green haired opened up the envelope. Inside were several papers, articles from the paper and a DVD. Quickly scanning the articles, he saw that they were all about the fire in the previous Baratie.

Zeff plucked his moustache. “This is all the evidence I have gathered about the fire. Find me the culprit.”

“Why don’t you just give this to the police?” Zoro asked.

The blond snorted. “Those incompetent idiots? Have you forgotten how they accused your freckled friend and almost sent him to jail?”

The green haired man gritted his teeth. No, he hadn’t forgotten about that. Ace seemed to have, being on cloud nine, but he would never forget the agony he and Luffy had gone through when the fireman had been in prison.

“I’ll take that murderous look as a ‘no’. Find me the bastard who set my restaurant on fire. I know the police thinks it’s done by some pyromaniac that targets random buildings, but it’s not. This is personal.”

“Why wait so long?” Zoro asked carefully.

“Like I said, the police are just a bunch of idiots. And the matter is too delicate to give to a random stranger. I want you to do it.” Zeff huffed. “But on one condition. Don’t tell the eggplant. He’ll just get upset and do something stupid.”

The green haired man nodded in understanding and followed the man down the stairs. They found a confused looking Sanji in the living room. “Where the hell were you guys?”

“I asked the grasshopper to move my bed.” Zeff jerked his thumb at Zoro.

The younger blond raised his eyebrow sceptically, but didn’t ask.

* * *

Zoro filtered through the evidence he had obtained from Sanji’s father. The evening there had turned out pretty good. Not only Sanji came out to the man who raised him, he also wanted to come out to his friends. Plus, Zoro finally had a job which paid relatively well.

At first, he had been inclined to turn down the case. After all, it was different from the ones he usually did for suspicious wives and their cheating husbands. But that was what made this case all the more interesting. It was more difficult, as not even the police could solve it. Not that they were the brightest lights around. Zoro was determined to solve this case. For Zeff, for Sanji and of course for Ace as well. That was all the motivation he needed.

In the articles before him, Zeff had highlighted parts he thought might be important. He had been really thorough with collecting the evidence. There were even articles about Ace’s trial. Sighing, he leaned back in his chair. There was much stuff, but nothing seemed particularly helpful. Still, it was a start. Maybe he could ask Marco for the official arson report. But for now, this would do.

His eyes landed on the DVD, wondering what that would contain. He opened his DVD-player in his laptop and pressed ‘play’. The DVD showed a black and white video of an alley. It didn’t take him long to realise that this must be a copy of a the tape security camera. The alley must be behind the former Baratie. Shuffling through the papers, he found what he was looking for. The fire started at three in the morning that night. He pressed fast forward until the timestamp said it was a little before three. From there, he let it play again.

For a moment, there was nothing, only a stray cat rummaging through the container. Then suddenly, a figure appeared, carrying a jerry can. He was wearing black clothes and a hood was pulled over his head. Zoro couldn’t see his face, but it was probably a male, tall and lean. The green haired man snorted. If the police had had this tape, they would have never suspected Ace. The fireman was way broader than that. Shaking his head, he continued watching. The suspicious individual poured the content of the jerry can around the restaurant, before throwing it away when it was empty. The police had obtained that as evidence, Zoro remembered, but no fingerprints were found. The culprit was wearing gloves. He got out something, probably matches or a lighter, and held a flame by the liquid. The perpetrator ran off and soon the Baratie caught alight. At that point the video stopped. The camera probably got damaged by the heat.

Zoro leaned back in his chair and rubbed at his chin thoughtful. He wondered why the police never saw the tape. Surely, someone would know about the camera? And how did Zeff get it, anyway?

But more importantly, he had seen the offender. Now only to find out who it was…

* * *

Sanji hummed happily as he stirred the soup. It was lunch time and rush hour in the Baratie, but he couldn’t help but be distracted. Not distracted enough to mess up the food, never, but he was planning out the dinner party he would be hosting. Sure, he was nervous about coming out to his friends, but most of them knew already anyway. And then he could just be with Zoro. No more shenanigans, just a normal relationship. Well, insofar Zoro and normal went hand in hand. Sanji snickered at that thought. The marimo would probably be lost before he could even find a hand.

A violent vibration in his pocket startled him. Annoyed, he took his phone out and looked at the display. Luffy again. The boy had tried to call him several times in the past hour already. Seriously, just because _he_ didn’t have to work, didn’t mean Sanji didn’t. Usually phone calls with Luffy consisted of the black haired boy whining that he was hungry or bored, which was pretty much the same, as he asked Sanji to cook for him in both cases. Well, too bad, he was working now. Shaking his head, he placed his phone back in his pocket and resumed stirring.

For the umpteenth time his phone went off. Cursing under his breath, he considered ignoring it altogether. Opting for picking up anyway and yell at Luffy to stop calling him, he blinked when the screen showed Nami’s name. Nami never called him. She had forbidden him to call her, and though he had said she could call him day and night, she never did. This must be an emergency! Perhaps she had broken up with Luffy and needed a shoulder to cry on? Sanji would happily provide that – not that he would be happy about their break-up, of course.

“Oi, Patty. Watch the soup, I’m taking a smoke break.” Without waiting for the response, or rather the insult, he was off. Outside, he picked up. “Nami-swan~ What a pleasant–”

“Why the hell didn’t you pick up earlier?”

The blond was taken aback by her shrill voice. She sounded upset. “I’m working, my lovely,” he stammered. “And Luffy called, so I thought–”

“Nevermind,” she interrupted him again. “You really haven’t heard, have you?”

“Heard what? Are you alright?” He was really started to get concerned now.

“I’m fine. It’s not me.” The red haired woman sounded like she was on the verge of crying. “There was… There was a car accident. It’s Zoro. He is in a coma.”


	20. Chapter 20

All Sanji could do was stare into nothing, his phone still against his ear. He couldn’t comprehend what Nami had just told him. Zoro, _his_ Zoro, was in a coma? That was impossible, that moss-head was like weed, never knew when he was unwanted.

How _dared_ that bastard?! Claiming he was just as strong as Sanji – which was ridiculous of course – and then let a car of all things take him out? It was an insult to the both of them. That must be the reason that idiot did this. To annoy the chef.

Far away, his brain registered Nami’s lovely voice calling his name and telling him to get to the hospital. He nodded vaguely, not aware that she couldn’t see him, before pressing the button to end the call. He didn’t even realised until later that he had cut off his beautiful angel mid-sentence.

His desire for a cigarette was completely gone and his mouth felt dry. Why did this happen? The uncultured bastard was probably just trying to get out of his dinner plans. But why? Didn’t he want Sanji to come out to his friends?

Still in trance, the chef made his way inside again. Zeff looked at him, his eyebrow raised. Sanji swallowed a few times, before barely brining out: “It’s Zoro.”

His father probably noticed something was off – whether it was because of his soft voice or his undoubtedly pale face, Sanji didn’t know – because he nodded curtly and said: “Well, what are you waiting for? Get out of my kitchen.”

Uncharacteristically, Sanji didn’t have the will to yell back something. He left the kitchen without a word and got behind the wheel of the car. When he put the keys into the ignition, he suddenly noticed his hands shaking. Frowning, he looked at them. What the hell was wrong with him? No way the marimo was actually in a coma. It was just Nami-swan’s wonderful sense of humour – which he didn’t really understand, but he was just a simpleton and she was a divine beauty. Surely, she was pulling his leg. Or maybe it was a desperate cry for attention! And who was he to let a damsel in distress wait? Maybe something happened and that was why she was at the hospital. His eyes widened suddenly. Maybe Nami was having a breast reduction and she had second thoughts? He had to talk her out of that! Turning on the car, he drove off like someone was hot on his trail. Nobody touched Nami’s beautiful bosom!

He was at the hospital in record time, hardly taking the time to park properly in a parking space before he ripped the keys from the ignition and stormed towards the entrance. At the reception, he came to an abrupt halt. He didn’t know where Nami was. Judging by the annoyed look the nurse behind the reception desk shot him for holding up the line, he decided just to ask. “I’m looking for Zoro Roronoa.”

Wait, that wasn’t right. Zoro wasn’t here anyway. Sanji just came here to prevent Nami from making the biggest mistake of her life and save her magnificent chest.

“Are you related?” the nurse asked.

“N-no. He is… He is my boyfriend,” Sanji stammered out. Why did she ask him that? Zoro wasn’t here anyway.

“He just got out of surgery. Room J3-33.”

It was like the earth fell away beneath his feet. His hand gripped the reception desk until his knuckles became white. This wasn’t happening.

“Sanji!”

The blond hardly registered his name, but two arms around him brought him out of his daze. “N-Nami-swan… I’m sorry to leave you waiting. Please, don’t do anything rash,” he stammered.

She looked at him confused, her face stained with tears. “I don’t know what you’re saying. Zoro is the one who needs you right now.” She took his hand and dragged him through the white halls of the hospital. Sanji let her, but was starting to wonder whether he wanted to see Zoro or not. It was one thing that he apparently really was here, but he had had surgery? What kind? What if his face was all messed up? Or his hands? To Sanji, his hands were his life, as he needed them for cooking, but Zoro needed his as well, to realise his dream. What if that could never happen?

He came to a sudden stop and Nami turned around confused. He chewed his lip nervously, craving a cigarette. He wanted to ask her what Zoro looked like now, what had happened, but the words wouldn’t come out.

The accountant’s face softened. “I know how you feel, Sanji. But please, come with me.”

“What… How bad is it?” he managed to bring out.

She looked at the floor. “A piece of rubbish was lodged in his left eye. The doctors did what they could, but there is a good chance he’ll never be able to see again with that eye. That’s to say, if he ever…” Her lip started to quiver and she covered her face with her hands. She took a shaky breath and wiped her eyes. “But this is Zoro we’re talking about.” She forced a smile on her face.

“Nami…” His voice was soft, admiring her strength.

She turned around and started walking again. He followed without another argument. If she was able to put up a strong face, who was he to deny her that? Silently, they reached room J3-33, which the nurse at the reception desk had named.

Nami placed her hand on the door handle. “Are you ready?” she asked. When he nodded, she opened the door and let him pass.

The room seemed to be even more brightly white than the hallways were. The walls were white, the ceiling, the beds. The only thing of colour that broke the endless whiteness was a stupid tuft of green hair. Zoro lay motionless in the bed, his left eye and part of his head covered by – equally white – bandages. His usually tanned skin looked pale. It was Zoro alright, but at the same time it wasn’t. This Zoro looked so small, so defenceless… It pissed Sanji off.

“What the hell, Moss-head?” he barked at the unconscious man. “Since when do you let yourself be beaten like that? You’re pathetic, you know that? Are you trying to resemble a plant even more than usual? Playing vegetable? I wouldn’t even use you for soup! You make Nami-swan cry, bastard, and you’re gonna pay for that. Now get up and fight me, you coward!”

The green haired man didn’t respond, only resulting in feeding Sanji’s anger. “So now you’re scared? Afraid that I will beat you?” He grabbed the front of Zoro’s pyjamas – the swordsman didn’t even _like_ to wear pyjamas. “You scared I will beat you, Marimo? Huh? Fight me, bastard!”

“Sanji.”

The blond felt a hand on his shoulder and immediately all the anger drained from him. His fist unclenched, the fabric of the pyjamas slipping from his grip. He never actually expected Zoro to wake up, but now everything suddenly felt so real.

Slowly, he turned around, noticing Luffy for the first time, an uncharacteristically serious look on his face. Sanji suddenly felt so tired.

Nami, lovely as she was, led him to a chair, where he sat down and buried his face in his hands.

“They say it was an accident,” Luffy’s voice suddenly broke the silence in the room. He didn’t sound convinced. “They say he couldn’t brake in time when he hit that building.”

“It must be that coffin on wheels he calls his car,” the chef said scornful. “It was bound to happen one time.”

Luffy’s face told him that he thought otherwise, but before the boy could say anything, they heard hasty footsteps in the hall, a shriek, muffled mumbles and then the door flung open. Ace stormed in, his usually cheerful face pale. “Zoro! What the hell happened?”

“He was in a car accident.” Nami’s voice sounded like she could cry any moment.

Ace’s eyes scanned the room, until his gaze rested on the chef. “Sanji… Are you okay?”

“I’m not the one in the coma, am I?” he snorted.

The door opened again and this time Marco entered. He wore his usual bored expression, but Sanji could feel his gaze flick over to the cook.

“Is there any news?” Ace asked worriedly.

Nami shook her head. “The doctors did all they could. All we can do now is wait.”

The fireman cursed and slammed his fist against the wall. “How the fuck are we supposed to do that? How can you just sit there?! Especially you!” He pointed accusingly towards Sanji. “If it were my boyfriend lying there–” Suddenly, he noticed his slip-up and slapped his hands over his mouth in shock. “Fuck, I’m sorry!”

The cook’s head had snapped up, though it was more out of reflex than anything else. He had been planning to tell his friends anyway. However, this was not the way he imagined it, Ace opening his big mouth and the man he was supposed to be dating in a coma. He looked at Nami, who looked less shocked or sad than he had thought. She had a soft look in her eyes and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I know.”

Luffy looked confused from one to the other and cocked his head a little. “Why do you apologise? Everyone already knows they’re dating.”

Sanji looked up and Ace gave his brother a hit over the head, before flashing the chef an embarrassed smile.

“But wait,” Sanji said suddenly. “The nurse at the reception desk asked if I was family. But why are you allowed in here?”

“Luffy took care of that,” Nami answered.

“And Ace just stormed past everything and everyone,” Marco said.

Sanji nodded.

For a moment, the tension had been lifted, but as soon as silence fell again, the high beeping noise of the machines Zoro was attached to was the only thing that was heard. Sanji rubbed his face, uncaring that his fringe fell away. His hands were shaking and he craved a cigarette, but somehow leaving Zoro like this wasn’t an option. His eye flicked to the motionless man on the bed. “Idiot sleeps through everything,” he mumbled.

They sat in silence. Ace was sitting in Marco’s lap, his face pale and his boyfriend’s hand in his. Nami was equally pale and looked like she worked hard to hold back her tears. Luffy was standing in front of the window, his back turned to them.

Suddenly, the door opened and a nurse came in. She had blond hair in a bob cut, dark eyes and many scars on her face. “Visiting hour is over,” she announced in an emotionless voice.

Ace jumped from Marco’s lap. “The hell, woman! We just got here.”

She looked at him unfazed, but Sanji snapped. Jumping to his feet, he exclaimed: “Don’t you dare to yell at a lady!”

The fireman turned around, his face showing disbelieve, but that soon changed to anger. “Are you fucking kiddin’ me? It’s your boyfriend lying here, for fuck’s sake, and you stick up for some nurse?!”

“There is never an excuse to disrespect a lady,” the chef barked back. All the anger had returned and he was itching to take it out on someone. Besides, Ace asked for it.

The freckled man snorted. “So, what? Zoro is just an adventure for you? You don’t even care about him, do you?!”

Sanji saw red. Before he realised what he was doing, he had lifted his leg and was aiming for Ace’s face. Before it could come into contact, however, he felt something stopping his leg – which was amazing in itself, as he hadn’t hold back on power. Before he knew it, Sanji was pinned on his stomach against the white hospital floor. Confused, he looked up.

Ace looked down at him in shock. Okay, so he wasn’t the one pinning him down. Slowly, it dawned on him that the chair Marco previously had been occupying was now empty. Nami looked just as shocked as Ace while Luffy had turned around, looking at them with large eyes. The nurse didn’t seem impressed.

The person pinning him down released him and Marco came into view, holding out his hand. “Please don’t attack Ace,” he said, looking serious.

Hesitantly, Sanji got the extended hand. What the hell just happened? He knew Marco was good at whatever sports he did – something Japanese – as he had managed to beat Zoro, but still. Sanji never even saw him move! But, he realised, he didn’t want to have Marco on his bad side and, seeing how protective the arson inspector was, neither he would want Ace.

Said fireman came standing next to his boyfriend. “Geez Marco, I can take him.” Smiling, he shook his head. Then he turned to Sanji. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean what I said.”

“It’s okay. We’re all stressed out,” he muttered, scratching the back of his head. He had never been pinned down that easily before.

The nurse knocked on the door to get their attention. “Visiting hour is over,” she repeated on the same emotionless tone.

Sanji took a deep breath and looked at Ace. “There’s nothing we can do now.”

The freckled man nodded reluctantly, before following his friends outside.

“Sanji, do you need someone to bring you home?” Nami asked worriedly.

“No thank you, my swan. I need to work.” With that, he left, only raising his hand in greeting and ignoring his friends’ protests.

* * *

Zeff raised an eyebrow when he came back to the kitchen and he saw Sanji at the counter, chopping like the carrot had said something bad about his mother. None of the other chefs had said anything when the younger blond got back, afraid to be gutted alive. Zeff didn’t say anything either, which Sanji was thankful for. Despite all the fighting they did all the time, the two chefs had a mutual respect for each other – or so liked Sanji to believe – and his adoptive father backed off when he needed his space.

For once, the kitchen was relatively silent, aside from the chopping sounds, the sizzling of food in the pans and every now and then a waiter or waitress to pass on an order. Sanji worked completely on autopilot, not allowing any thoughts in his head. He had been wondering how the accident happened, and why now. It drove him mad, however, as he didn’t have an answer for anything. So he opted for not thinking and just working.

Near the end of his shift, though, Zeff called him to his office. Reluctantly, the younger chef sat down across the desk, while his father plucked his moustache. “So, are you gonna tell me what happened to my son-in-law?”

“We’re not fucking married,” Sanji spat, but after seeing Zeff’s unimpressed eyebrow, he sighed. “He… Zoro was in a car accident. He is in a coma.”

Suddenly, it was like the news finally got through to him, hitting him like a ten ton hammer. He tried to hold back his tears, but it was no use and soon, he was sobbing pathetically. Zeff got up from his desk and stood close to his son, caressing his hair. Sanji grabbed the apron of the restaurant owner and buried his face in it. He felt like a little boy again, but for now, he didn’t care. Finally, he had been able to admit to himself and to others that he liked a man, that he liked Zoro, and now this? It was like someone didn’t want them to be together.

After a while, his tears had dried, though his shoulders still shook. Zeff kept holding him until he had recovered from his breakdown. Sanji rose and took a shaky breath. “I’m going back to the hospital,” he announced.

The older chef nodded, plucking his moustache, lost in thought.

* * *

The drive to the hospital seemed to be shorter than the first time, probably because he now knew what to expect. He nodded at the nurse at the reception – a different one than from that afternoon – and made his way to the room. On his way, he wondered if he should have brought flowers, but dismissed the thought right away. First of all, Zoro was in a coma and who knew when he woke up, if ever at all. His heart clenched at that. Quickly he told himself that the Neanderthal wouldn’t appreciate anything but booze anyway.

He came to room J3-33 and carefully he opened the door. Much to his surprise, he saw someone sitting next to Zoro’s bed, the green haired man’s hand pressed against their face. Cautiously, Sanji peeked around the corner. He didn’t know the man, but if he had to take a – not so wild – guess, he would say it was Zoro’s adoptive father, Koshiro.

He considered leaving, as this really weren’t the circumstances he wanted to meet his future father-in-law. Unfortunately, this was the moment the car keys, that dangled from his fingers, decided to fall. The sound made Koshiro look up.

Awkwardly, Sanji raised his hand. “H-hello. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

The older man rose from his seat. “Are you lost?” he asked, a gentle smile on his face.

Sanji took the opportunity to have a closer look at the man. He was tall, with black hair tied back in a ponytail. His face was covered in wrinkles, but looked friendly. He also wore large round glasses.

Despite the man being the person who raised Zoro, his boyfriend, the chef couldn’t bite back the remark. “I’m not Zoro.”

Realising how insensitive he sounded, his eyes widened.

Still, Koshiro’s smile didn’t waver. “You must be the boyfriend.”

Sanji nodded, a frown on his face. Didn’t Zoro say that he hadn’t told Koshiro yet? As if the man could read his mind, he said: “Zoro said there was someone he liked who fits your description. My name is Koshiro.” He held out his hand.

“Sanji.”

The man nodded. “These are unfortunate circumstances we meet in, Sanji.”

The blond suddenly felt very nervous. He didn’t want to be at the hospital anymore, but he also didn’t want to leave the swordsman. So he ended up sitting on the other side of the bed.

“So, how did you two meet?” the dark haired man asked.

Sanji thought for a moment. “A few months ago, I was having a really bad day,” he started his story. “The restaurant where I worked had just burned down, my car broke and I had to take the bus home, but then my wallet got stolen. On top of that, it was raining, so I was pretty done with everything. That’s when Zoro came by, offering me a place of shelter and something warm to drink.” A smile tugged on the corner of his mouth when he remembered that night. Honestly, now that he thought about it, that night had been the perfect way to start a romance. After all, there was wine, a fireplace...

Alright, it was cheesy, even for a romantic like him, but it would have been nice. If only he hadn’t been so stubborn. If only he had given in sooner, then he would have had more time with Zoro… The smile disappeared from his face.

They sat in silence for a long time, when Koshiro broke it again, asking: “Are there any decent hotels nearby? I would like to see Zoro as much as I can, but the drive is too long to do so.”

“You can stay at my place.” The words were out before he realised it.

The elder man smiled. “Thank you. It’ll be only for tonight, as I need to return to the dojo tomorrow. But I’d like to see him before I return.” He gestured to the sleeping form on the bed.

When a lovely nurse informed them that the visiting hour was over – they had three moments to visit in the hospital, one in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in the evening – the two men made their way to the parking place. As Koshiro had his own car, Sanji told him to follow him in it while he would lead the way. There was only place for one car on his driveway, so the elder man parked on the pavement.

Inside, the blond didn’t really know what to do and fiddled with his keys. “I do not have a guest room, so I hope you don’t mind sleeping on the couch?” he asked carefully. Maybe he should have brought the man to a hotel.

“That’s alright,” Koshiro answered with a smile. “I sincerely want to thank you for letting me stay here. I value family very much.”

Cheeks tinted pink, Sanji stared at the floor. “Don’t mention it. Are you hungry? I could cook something.”

The moment he said it, the doorbell rang. With an apologetic look, the blond went to answer it. On the doorstep, a boy was standing, one Sanji recognised as a young cook apprentice. He was holding a large and heavy looking pan, with a note on top. Frowning, Sanji picked up the piece of paper and folded it open. In a cursive handwriting, it said:

‘ _Eggplant,_

_You messed up today’s soup, so eat it yourself. And don’t you dare throw it away, I’ll know.’_

It wasn’t signed, but there was no need. A smile curved Sanji’s mouth. There was nothing wrong with the soup of course, he had made it himself, after all. This was just Zeff being worried if he ate well. So the shitty old bastard did care.

Finally, he took the large pan from the boy, who looked like his legs would give in any second, thanked him and closed the door. It wasn’t uncommon for Zeff and the other chefs to send out the apprentices for annoying chores. Sanji himself hadn’t been an exception.

Koshiro had sat down on the couch and raised an eyebrow when Sanji entered with the large pan. “Would you care for pumpkin soup?” the latter asked smiling.

Sanji made his way to the kitchen and started to heat up the soup, in the meantime getting a bread from the freezer, which he had made in case he had unexpected guests. He was just preheating the oven when for the second time that night the doorbell rang.

This time, two familiar faces greeted him. Ace smiled sheepishly at him. “I brought a Luffy.” He petted his brother on his head.

“And I brought meat!” The boy held up a package of sausages with a wide grin, but Sanji didn’t doubt his backpack would be filled with various kinds of meat as well. He let them pass. Ace greeted Koshiro with familiarity and Sanji couldn’t help but feel a little relieved that the freckled man distracted Zoro’s foster father while Luffy helpfully brought the meat to the kitchen.

Sanji had hardly put the bread in the oven when the doorbell rang again. The black haired boy opened it this time and it didn’t take long before Nami appeared in the kitchen, holding a basket filled with tangerines. He thanked her extensively and asked her to wait in the living room until the soup was ready.

In the time that it took to heat the bread and the soup, the doorbell rang three times more. The first revealed Brook, who brought several bottles of milk, the second time Robin and Franky showed up, bringing cola and chocolate ice cream, and finally Usopp and a sniffling Chopper arrived, the former with a vegetable basket – instead of fruit, for some reason – and the latter candy. In all, everyone had brought their favourite things in order to comfort Sanji and he was grateful for that.

The chef loved to cook for his friends and after having served soup and bread, he started on the meat and vegetables and concluded the meal with ice cream and tangerines. Everyone could eat their fill – an opportunity the D-brothers gratefully made use of.

* * *

Sanji woke up the next morning in a way he had never thought he would. Spread out on his bed were Luffy, Ace and Chopper, all snoring contently. Well, he may have dreamed about such a scenario – only then everyone aside from himself would be female.

He recalled Usopp being in his room as well at some point, but the architect was nowhere to be seen.

Silently, Sanji got up and left the bed. Honestly, why couldn’t it have been the girls who fell asleep in his arms? – not that he had been cuddling with the guys of course, don’t be ridiculous. Though, he had to admit, last night had been fun. Ace and Luffy had made him laugh so hard that his stomach started to hurt and Usopp had a whole new arsenal of made up adventures. With a soft smile on his face at the sight of the sleeping guys, he made his way downstairs. There, it was the same kind of chaos, with his friends scattered around the room. Much to his horror he found Robin and Nami asleep on the floor – he would have to kick someone’s face in for doing that to a lady. But that would have to wait, his angels were still sleeping.

Much to his surprise, Sanji found Usopp at the kitchen table, fiddling with a lamp the blond had resolved to throw out as it didn’t work anymore. The architect proved him wrong when he put the plug in the socket and the lamp shone brightly as ever.

“Morning,” Sanji greeted his friend. “Thanks for fixing that.”

Usopp mumbled a “you’re welcome”, but didn’t seem his cheerful self.

Sanji started to make coffee. “Are you okay? I know it was a bit of a tight fit last night, but the other guys seem content.” He couldn’t suppress the smile that appeared at recalling the image of the sleeping boys. It had been beyond cute, the two brothers with Chopper curled up between them.

The curly haired man stayed silent, so the blond turned around. “Something the matter?” the latter asked.

The architect placed down the screwdriver he was holding – Sanji couldn’t remember ever buying one, so his friend might carry it with him at all times – and sighed. “Sanji, I know you’re going through a rough time. But…” He hesitated for a moment, choosing his words carefully. “I just can’t believe you lied to my face. Not once, but twice! You know I wouldn’t care if you were dating a guy or not! I’m supposed to be your best friend.”

The chef waited until Usopp’s rant was over and let himself fall in a chair while the coffee was percolating. “I know,” he said, rubbing his temples. “I’m sorry. I really am. I just… wasn’t ready to tell anyone. I am now. But just so you know, I’m not gay. Zoro’s… Zoro’s just an exception or something.” He stared at the tabletop. “It’s not like it matters now anymore, anyway.”

His friend looked at him with worried eyes. “Sanji… You know everything’s gonna be okay, right? This is Zoro we’re talking about.”

Before the blond could respond, Robin entered the kitchen. “Good morning, Mr. Cook, Mr. Long-nose,” she greeted them with a warm smile.

“Good morning, Robin-chwan!” Sanji exclaimed, his mood veered around. “Which bastard’s face do I need to kick in for making you sleep on the floor?”

“I slept perfectly fine,” she answered, pouring herself a cup of coffee, despite Sanji’s protests. “I prefer to sleep on a hard surface.”

The blond was a bit conflicted. If Robin rather slept on the floor, he couldn’t really protest, but still every fibre of his being screamed how wrong it was to let a lady sleep on the floor. “What about Nami-swan?”

“I think she has the same preference,” Robin chuckled.

* * *

Later that day, Sanji found himself home alone. That morning, after everyone had woken up, he had made an elaborate breakfast with leftovers from the night before, and after that, they had gone to the hospital together. Except for Koshiro and himself, everyone had been kicked out soon – because they were too loud and with too many – and they had left with the promise to check up on Sanji every once in a while. The blond was very thankful for their kindness and concerns. Last night had been just what he needed.

Koshiro had left again, thanking Sanji for his hospitality. He said that he would come to see Zoro soon again. It was Sanji’s day off and the house felt rather empty with all his friends gone. But they had their own jobs.

As the partner, he could come any time he wanted and didn’t have to wait for the visiting hours, but Zoro had to undergo several tests, so Sanji was asked to come in later. To keep his mind off things, the blond decided to clean the house. He hadn’t been home too often lately, staying at Zoro’s place a lot, and if he was here he was too tired – or too busy – to clean.

He had just finished washing the windows, when the doorbell rung again. Frowning, he placed the sponge he had used to clean in the bucket of water. Really, checking up on him didn’t have to be _this_ often. Of course, he appreciated the concern, but he was a big boy! Besides, he rather had that they took care of Chopper, who took Zoro’s accident extra hard.

Opening the door, he was met not by one of his friends, but a familiar face nonetheless.

“Mr. Prince?” the officer said. “My name is inspector Momonga. We’ve met before. May I come in?”


	21. Chapter 21

“May I come in?” Momonga repeated when Sanji didn’t respond for a while.

The chef blinked a few times, looking rather confused. Why was there a cop here? This didn’t have anything to do with Ace, right? After all, this was the same man who had arrested the fireman when the Baratie had burned down. Still frowning, Sanji stepped aside to let the officer in. “What’s this about?”

Momonga waited until he was seated on the couch, before clearing his throat and taking out a notebook. “Is it true that you are currently in a relationship with Mr. Roronoa?”

Sanji slowly lowered himself onto a chair across from the inspector. What had that moss-head to do with anything? “Is that a problem?”

“Mr. Prince,” Momonga sat up a little and looked Sanji straight in the eye, “we have reason to believe that the car crash was not an accident.”

It felt like someone had thrown a bucket of cold water over him. Wide eyed, he stared back at the police man. No accident? “But, what…”

“We have examined the remains of the car,” Momonga explained. “It turned out the brake cables have been cut. Mr. Prince, can you think of anyone who might want to hurt your partner?”

Sanji still had trouble processing the information he just received. Someone wanted the marimo dead? Who would want to hurt him? Well, sure, he wanted to do that, but not with a dirty trick like that. He would take Zoro head on and kick the crap out of him. He was planning on doing that anyway, as soon as the moss-head woke up. He slowly shook his head.

“Perhaps something to do with his job?” the inspector pressed.

The chef lit a cigarette and after taking a deep breath, he answered: “I assume you mean his job as a private detective. Right now, he is living off the money he earns with his side job as a kendo instructor. As far as I know, his only clients were women who wanted to find out if their husbands were cheating on them. So maybe a vengeful husband after being found out? I don’t know, he never mentioned anything about it. I don’t think he had any clients at the moment.”

“Well, there is another thing. When we entered Mr. Roronoa’s house, it was clear there had been a break in. We are still looking through the files that haven’t been stolen, but his laptop was taken and his desk was empty. We assume the case he was currently working on was the cause for the culprit to want him dead before he found out too much. Mr. Roronoa probably was on the right track. Are you sure he hasn’t mentioned anything?”

Sanji shook his head, his hands entangled with his hair. The crash hadn’t been an accident, someone deliberately sabotaged the swordsman’s car to cause him to crash. And die.

“We have stationed an officer in front of his room in the hospital, in case someone finds out he hasn’t died and wants to finish the job,” the inspector said, as if he could read the chef’s mind. He rose from the couch. “Please, give me a call when you think of anything that might help us.” He handed Sanji his card, before leaving him alone.

The cook took one last breath from his cigarette and then stomped it out in an ashtray. Like some shitty officer could protect the shitty moss-head from anything. He would have to do it himself.

* * *

With bags under his eyes, Sanji opened the door that had been ringing annoyingly. He had hardly been home, staying with Zoro unless the swordsman had to undergo some tests. And even then he hadn’t left the hospital, living mostly on the disgusting beverage they dared to call coffee. Still, it was worth it, as the officer in front of the room had hardly seemed competent enough. The frail blond man looked like he was fresh out of the academy as he jumped to the attention every time Sanji passed. Then there was that ridiculous blond hair combed back and the sunglasses didn’t make it any better.

Sanji had only come home to take a shower and put on some new clothes. So this better be important.

“Dude, you look like shit,” Ace greeted him, only to receive a smack against the back of his head by Marco, who was standing behind him. The freckled man recovered quickly. “Can we come in?”

“Can’t it wait? I’m on my way to the hospital and I have to stop by Marimo’s house to grab a new pair of pyjamas,” he responded and made to pass them.

“It’s rather important and I think it’s better not to do this with Zoro in the same room,” Ace pressed.

The chef sighed and gave in, stepping aside to let the two men pass.

They sat down on the couch and Sanji took a seat in the chair, just like the day before with Momonga.

“So,” Ace started, “we heard about that Zoro’s crash wasn’t an accident.”

Sanji nodded. He wasn’t surprised, it had been in the newspaper, after all. Perhaps he should have told it himself, but he had been to busy guarding Zoro. “What about it? You know who did it?”

“If that was the case, I wouldn’t be here, I would be stomping the guy’s face in. But,” the freckled man continued, “Marco remembered something that might be related.” He looked at his boyfriend.

“A few days ago,” the blond started, “I got a phone call from Zoro.”

Sanji looked at him confused. “What did he want from you? Something with the dojo?”

Marco shook his head. “It was about the fire in the Baratie. He wanted a copy of the official report I had made.”

“Why would he want that all of the sudden?” The chef still had no idea where this was going.

The arson inspector exchanged a look with Ace and cleared his throat. “Apparently, your father had hired him to solve the case.”

“He _what_?!” Sanji jumped up, furious.

“Yeah, we thought you might not know about that…” Ace said carefully. “Are you alright?”

“I need to talk with the old fart.” And he stormed out, leaving Marco and Ace behind.

In his car, he frantically pushed the keys in the lock and started the engine. Suddenly, everything made sense. Zeff had asked Zoro to solve the case. Now Zoro was in a coma after an attempt to murder him. Obviously, the same person who had burned down the Baratie was responsible for that.

His brakes shrieking in front of the new restaurant, Sanji hardly took the time to lock his car before storming in. “Old fart!” he roared.

The whole kitchen became silent when Zeff turned around, his arms folded before his chest. Furious, Sanji came to a stop in front of his father. “You!” he hissed. “You did this!”

“I did what?” Zeff asked calmly, used to his son’s temper.

“You put Zoro in the hospital! You asked him to find out who the Baratie burned down, you shitty old fart! And now he is in a coma because some lowlife thought it was necessary to cut his brake cables!” he yelled, ignoring the tears that streamed across his cheeks.

The older chef waited patiently until his rant was done, before giving his son a swift kick in the shin. “You got some nerve,” he growled dangerously. “I didn’t know this would happen to the grasshopper, or else I wouldn’t have risked it. I hardly want to get rid off the guy who can keep you at bay, would I? So unless you’re accusing me of personally cutting those cables, I would watch that shitty mouth of yours!”

Sanji shut up abruptly and wiped the tears from his face, scowling at anyone who dared to look up from their cooking.

“That’s better,” Zeff commented. “Now, how did you find out anyway?”

“Marco told me that Zoro had called him for the report on the former Baratie. The arson inspector, remember?” he added.

The older blond snorted. “Of course I do, I’m not senile. But the same person responsible for the fire is the one who tried to kill the grasshopper?”

Sanji shrugged. “That’s what I think. But why didn’t you tell me you had hired him?”

“Because I knew you were going to do something stupid,” the older man snorted. “Which I’m assuming you’re gonna do now?”

“Of course I’m not–” Sanji’s sentence got cut off when his phone started to vibrate in his pocket. Retrieving the device, he saw it was an unknown number, which could only mean one thing. His hands shaking, he pressed to answer the call, placing the phone against his ear. “Sanji Prince.”

Zeff watched as his son’s face went pale and without saying anything, the younger blond dashed out of the kitchen.

* * *

He had hardly parked his car before dashing out of it. Not bothering to greet the nurse at the reception desk, he ran to Zoro’s room.

Chopper was there as well, sobbing against the green haired man’s chest while a tanned hand patted his back.

“I’m glad to see you too, Chopper,” Zoro grinned.

Sanji came to a halt in the doorway, ignoring the saluting officer, and just staring at the scene. Zoro was awake. The phone call hadn’t been a cruel joke. All the adrenaline disappeared from his body and suddenly, he felt drained but relieved.

Dark eyes looked up at him, continuing to comfort the sobbing Chopper. Sanji smiled. “Marimo…”

“Who are you?”

The blond eyes widened. This wasn’t happening. Not really. Now Zoro didn’t remember him, after everything they went through?  
Chopper shot up. “Ah! Zoro has amnesia! Someone call a doctor!” Frantically, he started to run up and down.

“Easy, Chopper,” the green haired man said soothing. “You’re a doctor, remember?” A smirk appeared on his face. “’Cause I sure as hell do, Shit-Cook.”

“You shitty bastard! You almost gave me a heart attack!” Sanji stormed towards his so-called boyfriend, ready to kick his face in.

Zoro snickered. “So you do care.”

“Like hell, plant-head! I just prefer to personally put you into a–” The last part of his sentence was lost in Zoro’s mouth as he pulled the blond close.

“Missed me, Cook?” the swordsman asked with that annoying smirk of his after he released the blond.

“As if,” Sanji snorted.

Zoro studied his face. “You look like shit.”

“You’re one to talk,” the blond retorted.

Their conversation was cut short when someone yelled “Zorooo!” and a flash of black and red launched itself on the bed. Luffy was soon followed by Nami, Marco and Ace. The latter launched himself next to his brother, while the other two kept their distance, Marco starting a conversation with Chopper. When Zoro had pushed the D-brothers away – though he couldn’t hide his smirk – Nami stepped forward.

“You bastard!” It looked like she wanted to hit him in the head, but seeing the bandages, she aimed for his shoulder, punching him hard while she tried to hold back her tears. “Do you even know what you put me through? Sanji? All of us? I’m gonna sue you for every penny you’re worth!”

“Would you be needing a lawyer for that?” a smooth voice sounded from behind them. Robin and Franky entered, the latter carrying a large bouquet of flowers. Robin stood at the foot of the bed. “Glad to see you awake,” she said smiling to Zoro. “After all, you could have been in that coma for years. God knows how much brain damage you would have if you woke up after such a long time.”

Sanji’s yaw dropped. Robin’s smile hadn’t wavered throughout her sentence. He never knew she could be so morbid.

“It certainly is SUPER to see you up, Zoro-bro,” Franky added, striking a pose.

“Thanks. Though I would have rather had that you had brought booze,” Zoro sighed, looking at the flowers.

“Don’t be ungrateful, shitty bastard!” Only now Sanji noticed that their fingers were still interlaced. Well, it wasn’t like his friends didn’t know yet, anyway, judging from Franky’s smirk and Robin’s all knowing smile.

The blue haired man placed the flowers on the table beside Zoro’s bed and took a seat like the other friends. They chatted happily for a while, when the swordsman asked: “So, why doesn’t my left eye work?”

“That would be because a piece of metal was lodged into it when your car hit the wall.” A tall, tanned man stepped into the room. He was wearing scrubs, which indicated that he worked at the hospital. He had short black hair and several piercings in his ear. Sanji knew he had seen him before, but where?

“Law!” Luffy yelled and jumped the man, wrapping his arms around him and hanging from him like a monkey.

“Oh, I didn’t know you were working here now,” Zoro commented, unable to suppress a chuckle when he saw the man’s annoyed face.

“Can someone get this off me?” Law asked like he was covered in some disgusting substance. Ace grinned and peeled his brother off the other man. “Come on, Lu. Law is working now.”

“Wait!” Suddenly, Sanji remembered where he knew that face from. It was the same guy who was with that red haired guy with the anger issues! He turned accusingly at Zoro. “I thought you didn’t know him?” He pointed at Law.

Zoro shrugged. “I never said I didn’t. You asked who I’d slept with and that ain’t Law. He’s lived with Ace and Luffy for a while, so of course I know him.”

“Ah, yes. I haven’t had the opportunity to thank you.” Law smirked. “You fucking with Kid made my job easier. Anyway, I was here to change your bandages, but I hadn’t expected the whole circus would be here.” He cast a glance at Luffy, whose ears were covered by a scowling Ace.

“So when will I be able to see again?” Zoro asked. “My eye hurts like fuck.”

“Probably never,” Law said deadpanned. “And you’ll have trouble with depth perception. Though your body will probably adjust to that.”

The green haired man snorted. “As if I’d have trouble with depth.”

“Zoro?” Chopper asked cautiously. “Could you take this pen?” He held up one within the swordsman’s reach.

Zoro huffed like he was insulted to be asked to do something so easy, but after missing his hold a few times, he growled annoyed. “Stop pulling it away, dammit!”

“I’m not moving it,” Chopper said pouting.

The green haired man grumbled something under his breath, but when he in one last attempt yanked the pen from Chopper’s hand, he smirked triumphant. “See? Nothing wrong with my sight.”

They let him have his moment and Law rolled his eyes. “Alright, first I need to talk with Ace and then I want all of you out. Except the loving spouse of course, you can stay. Three is the max, the guy just got out of a coma, after all.”

Sanji scowled at him when he left the room, followed by the freckled man and a happy chattering Luffy, like he was invited.

“What does he want with Ace?” Sanji asked frowning and looked at Marco. “Shouldn’t you be worried?”

“Ace is participating in a drug trial for his narcolepsy,” the older blond explained. “So far, the medications seems to work aside from some,” he coughed, “side effects. And I’m not worried. Especially since Luffy is there as well.”

“I’d better check on him,” Nami muttered, before she left the room. Soon they heard her yell, “Dammit, Luffy, let go of him!” and a muffled bang.

Zoro shook his head. “Anyway, how did I get here again? Law said something about my car hitting a building?”

Suddenly, the vibe in the room turned gloom. Sanji stared at his shoes before taking a deep breath and saying: “Someone cut your brake cables and your car crashed.”

The swordsman stayed silent for a moment. “What do you mean, someone cut my cables? Who?”

“You think if I knew that I wouldn’t be kicking the bastard to pieces?” the blond spat. Clearing his throat and ignoring Zoro’s triumphant grin, he continued: “Anyway, the police thinks it has to do with the case you were working on.” Noticing the green haired man was evading eye contact, Sanji sighed. “Give it up, Moss-head, I know you were after the arsonist.”

“Your old man made me promise not to tell you.”

“I know. It doesn’t matter now. Just tell us what you know.” Sanji sat down on the edge of the bed.

Zoro looked around at the expectant faces and scratched the back of his head. “I can’t remember.”

Sanji snorted. “Well, isn’t _that_ convenient.”

“You try hit a building with a car, idiot Cook!” he snapped back.

“Please. The next time you’re in here, it’ll be _me_ putting you in a coma, Moss-head!”

* * *

Three days later, Zoro made the hospital release him. He had to undergo several tests, but the doctors hadn’t been able to keep him longer and despite their objections, Zoro signed the release forms. He was feeling fine, dammit, and being locked up in a room all day became agonising, even if he could sleep all he wanted. Koshiro had stopped by to see him. Zoro had left out the whole attempt to murder thing and fortunately, the man hadn’t seen the newspaper. They chatted for a while before his foster father had to leave again. Even Zeff had stopped by, threatening him to eat well, but much to Sanji’s relief the two fathers hadn’t met. Zoro wondered how such an encounter would go.

Now, he was being let to Sanji’s car. He still had trouble with depth perception – not that he would ever admit that, of course – so it took him a moment before he had found the door handle. When he was seated, he started to fumble with the seat belt. The blond turned towards him and wordlessly helped him. Zoro snorted. “I can do it myself.”

“Whatever.” Sanji stared through the windscreen. “Did you realise everyone knows?”

“Knows what?”

“About us, Moss-Brain!” He sighed. “Apparently, most had an idea already.”

“You could say that again. Nami will make some money with the bet she had.”

The blond’s head snapped up. “What?”

“Like that’s a surprise.” The green haired man snorted. “If there’s a way to make money, that money grabbing hag will find it.”

“Don’t talk about Nami like that, you bastard!”

Zoro smiled a little. “Glad to see you back to normal.”

“I was never not normal, Moss-for-a-brain,” the blond huffed.

“Stop being such a priss and just take me home,” Zoro said. “My eye starts to itch.”

Sanji grumbled something under his breath, but still did as he was told. Shortly after, they arrived at Zoro’s house.

“Why the hell is it such a mess?” the green haired man exclaimed when he saw the living room.

“Because a pig lives here,” Sanji said deadpanned. “Other than that, someone broke in and stole your files and laptop. So it would be great if you remembered who it was you were tracing.”

Zoro groaned and rubbed his head. “I’ve a headache,” he mumbled.

The blond pulled his mouth taut and disappeared into the kitchen. Zoro lied down on the couch and closed his eyes. The sounds of Sanji moving around, the sizzling of food in the pan, were rather soothing. The green haired man yawned.

He had no idea how long he had been asleep when he was uncharacteristically gently woken. Sanji placed a plate of food on the coffee table. Apparently, he had cleaned up somewhat while Zoro was out, because the living room looked a lot more tidy. He took the plate gratefully. “Thanks, Cook.”

Sanji hummed and took a drag from his cigarette.

After having finished his plate, the green haired man placed it back on the table and contently leaned back. “That was way better than the crap they fed me in the hospital.”

“It better was,” Sanji snorted. “Now, how’s your headache?”

“Nearly gone, actually.” He yawned again.

The blond got his plate and made for the kitchen. “That’s too bad~”

Did he imagine it or did the chef just sway his hips a little more? “You know,” he said carefully, “nearly means it’s not entirely gone…”

The blond came back into the living room with a smirk on his face. “Well, we better do something about that then.”

Zoro grinned and let himself be pulled up. Sanji pressed their lips together, his hands roaming the swordsman’s chest. It wasn’t long before Zoro deepened the kiss. He only realised now how much he had missed the blond. Aside from that one kiss when he saw Sanji again and the handholding, they hadn’t really touched each other. It felt like an eternity, though for the cook it had been longer, since Zoro had been knocked out for the most part.

Sucking on the blond’s tongue, Zoro grabbed his ass and lifted him from the floor, carrying him up the stairs.

Sanji let go of him. “Idiot! You were just in a coma! Be careful!”

“I think I can manage your skinny body,” Zoro smirked.

“I’m not skinny! I’m lean!” The blond squirmed in his grip, but the green haired man wasn’t about to let go. He kicked the door to his bedroom open and carried the chef inside. Finally, he put Sanji with both feet on the floor.

The blond took his face between his hands, a sad look appearing on his own as he studied the bandages over Zoro’s left eye. Gently, he caressed them.

The green haired man leaned into the touch.

“I’m gonna kill the bastard who did this to you,” Sanji muttered.

For once, the swordsman decided not to be smug about that and instead leaned in for a kiss. The blond opened his mouth to give him access, before pushing him on the bed. Sanji took a step back and started to take off his clothes. He made sure to do it slow and seductive, that bastard, obviously enjoying the hungry look Zoro gave him. The swordsman instinctively licked his lips as more skin was revealed and he bit back a moan. He had definitely missed Sanji and that gorgeous body of his. The blond swayed his hips as he lowered his pants, erection evident in his boxers. Zoro watched without blinking how the man leaned back, showing off his limberness, and the green haired man started to stroke himself. Damn, he wanted him bad.

Sanji smirked mischievously and walked towards his lover. He pushed the swordsman’s hand away and instead started to undo his clothes. Kissing him slowly and intensely, Sanji pushed Zoro further up on the bed, while one article of clothing after another was discarded on the floor. The swordsman found himself leaning against the headboard as the blond pressed his legs apart and dipped his head down.

Zoro’s one functioning eye rolled back in his head when the chef sucked on the tip of his erection, slowly taking more into his mouth. Holding onto the bars of the headboard, the swordsman braced himself, enjoying every sensation that was sent up his spine. Sanji seemed determined to give him a good time, curling his tongue around Zoro’s member and showing that it was just as bendy as the chef’s body. The swordsman closed his eye and leaned back against the iron bars, cooling his hot body. Was he imagining it or had Sanji gotten better at this? They hadn’t given each other head since that one time after working at the Baratie.

For now, he didn’t care though and just enjoyed Sanji. The blond caressed his thighs, with gentle touches keeping them apart. Zoro could feel himself getting closer to his climax and tightened his grip around the bars again, which slowly began to bend. He couldn’t care less right now. “San…ji,” he brought out as a warning.

Instead of letting go, like he expected, the blond started to suck harder, taking as much in his mouth as possible. Zoro’s body tensed up and he couldn’t hold back anymore. With a deep groan, he came.

Slowly, he was starting to become aware of the world again after his high and to his surprise, he found Sanji with his forehead leaning against the green haired man’s shoulder. “Don’t you ever dare to do that to me again, you shitty bastard,” he murmured.

“I tried to warn you,” Zoro said a little indignant.

Sanji looked up, his blue eyes – as his fringe was brushed aside and sticking to his head from sweat – glistering with emotion, though Zoro couldn’t say what it was. Anger? Sadness?

“That is not what I mean,” Sanji said and suddenly, it dawned upon the swordsman.

The chef had been scared. Alone. He had felt helpless. Wrapping his arms around the smaller frame, he pulled his boyfriend close. “I can’t promise anything.” When Sanji looked up angry, he smirked. “After all, you did threaten to put me back in a coma.”

“I better get onto that, because you have barely woken up and you already annoy me!” Sanji dove on top of him.

It ended in a wrestling match and Zoro decided he very much liked naked wrestling. At a certain point, he found himself behind Sanji, who was sitting on all fours. A smirk appeared on Zoro’s face when he grabbed the other man’s slim hips and pushed his ass cheeks apart with his thumbs. Sanji froze as the green haired man let his tongue run across his entrance, but he didn’t stop him. Zoro repeated the motion, before he flipped himself on his back and guided the blond’s hips down. He could feel the chef hesitating, but his lover still followed his guidance until he was practically sitting on Zoro’s face. He tilted his hips a bit so the swordsman could take him in his mouth. His knees were resting on either side of Zoro’s head as he held himself up, starting to move himself in and out the hot cavern.

Somehow, lying between those strong thighs that could crush his skull if they would choose to do so and Sanji fucking his face was extremely arousing. He could see everything, every movement the blond’s lithe body made, every clench of his stomach muscles, however small. He let his hands slide up the deadly legs, listening to the pants and moans his lover let out.

Suddenly, without any warning, Sanji pulled back, leaving Zoro confused lying on the bed. He had been certainly enjoying himself, so for the blond it must have been even better. The chef sat down on his lap and aligned their erections – Zoro had become hard again in the meantime, he had just been too busy to take notice – stroking them both with his hand.

The swordsman moaned and sat up, pressing their lips together while Sanji never stopped his frantic movements. Zoro’s hips moved on their own account, meeting the blond’s hand with his thrust. He cupped the chef’s face.

Sanji bit on the swordsman’s bottom lip, his body tensing. Zoro wrapped his own hand around the blond’s and helped him move his hand, until the cook collapsed against him. The green haired man then took only his own erection in his hand, before he too came.

They lied next to each other, fingers entangled, even when Sanji leaned down to get a cigarette. Zoro stared at the ceiling as the blond smoked quietly. “You got better at giving head, Cook.”

The blond hummed. “I got a few pointers from Ace, along with some other unasked for advice.”

Zoro let out a laugh. That sounded like the fireman alright. “Can’t say he did a bad job this time.”

Sanji rolled his eyes, but didn’t comment. They lay in silence until the chef had finished his cigarette and disposed of it in the ashtray next to the bed. Then, the blond rolled over to Zoro, wrapping his arms around the tanned torso and buried his face in the crook of his neck, murmuring something, but to Zoro, the words sounded as clear as day.

“I love you, asshole.”

At first, he had no idea how to respond. He felt Sanji shifting his head, peeking up to his face before returning to his former position, hiding his face and evading all eye contact. Then, a large smirk broke through on Zoro’s face. “You’re such a romantic.”

“Shut up, Plant-Head. I hate you!”

Still smirking, the swordsman grabbed his other’s chin and forced him to look up. “That is not what you said just now.”

“I didn’t say anything!” Despite the darkness in the room, Zoro knew the other’s face was bright red. “That car crash must have messed up your ears too. Or your brain. Well, there was always something wrong with tha–”

The green haired man interrupted him by kissing his lips. “I love you too, Shit-Cook.”

The blond huffed and called him an idiot under his breath, but nevertheless curled up against him. It became quiet once again. Zoro played with the blond strands sprawled out on his chest. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice said that he needed to change his bandages, but he decided to do that in the morning. It didn’t seem like Sanji was going anywhere soon. Yawning, he closed his eye and it didn’t take long before both had fallen asleep.

* * *

Sanji woke up from a high beeping noise. Groaning, he leaned over to the bedside table to turn off the alarm, but to his surprise, he didn’t find his phone there. Zoro groaned and turned around. “Oi, Shit-Cook, you’re burning something.”

“I’m not cooking!” Suddenly, his sleepy brain made sense of things. A high beeping noise, plus the smell of something burning. “Fuck! The smoke alarm!”

“Then don’t smoke in bed,” Zoro murmured.

“I put it out!” Sanji dashed out of bed and opened the door of the bedroom. Immediately, he was met by an enormous heat and he closed the door again. “Marimo! Wake up! The house is on fire!”

The swordsman was awake right away. “My swords!” He hadn’t thought about them when they came back. Did they still hang over the mantle piece?

“Relax! They’re safe!” When the green haired man looked at him confused, he said a little embarrassed: “They’re at my place. Now call the fucking fire brigade!”

Sirens grew louder and Sanji realised someone else must have warned the fire brigade. How the hell had they slept through this?

In the meantime, Zoro had put on pants and opened the window. A fireman with a megaphone was standing on the street, while others were busy preparing to extinguish the fire. “Are you all right in there?”

“Yeah, but we can’t get out!” Zoro yelled back.

“Don’t worry, we’re going to get you out! With how many are you?”

“Just the two of us. We’re both in this room!”

Looking down, Sanji, having come standing next to his boyfriend, saw that the fire apparatus was parked close to the building and the turnable ladder was rotating in the direction of the window. “Can you climb yourself or will you be needing assistance?”

“We should be fine!” Zoro yelled back.

“Are you sure?” Sanji asked worriedly. He eyed the bandaged side of the swordsman’s face.

“Let’s first get out of here and then you can get worried,” the green haired man growled and felt for the ladder. Sanji watched him climb down and followed soon after.

When they reached the fire truck, a fireman was waiting for them on the roof. “What the hell, you guys?” the man exclaimed, and the blond recognised Ace’s voice.

“I think you can be pretty sure that this is arson,” Sanji said surly.

The freckled man frowned and helped them off the car. An ambulance was ready and even though they insisted they were fine, they were told to get into the vehicle to get a check-up at the hospital. Ace was allowed to join them, as the fire was already under control.

During the ride to the hospital, Ace asked: “You’re sure that it was arson?”

“Well, it wasn’t my fault,” Sanji snapped. He was still tired and was sitting half-naked in an ambulance covered in dried fluids from their previous activities he sincerely hoped Ace wouldn’t notice.

The freckled man shrugged. “Well, Marco will figure out what happened.” His face lid up when he talked about his boyfriend. “But I guess someone really wants you dead, Zoro.”

The green haired man smirked. “They have to try harder, then.”

“Ill weed grows apace, after all,” Sanji said with a smirk.

“What did you say, good-for-nothing cook?”

Ace snickered. “Aw, I missed this. You getting at each other’s throats… Speaking of which, you really should shower after.” He pointed at their torsos. His smirk only grew when both their faces turned red.

The check up was finished quickly as neither of them had breathed in too much smoke or obtained burns. After Zoro’s bandages were changed and they had cleaned themselves up, slightly embarrassed, Ace came into the room.

“The fire has been put out, but there has been a lot destroyed. You can stay with me and Luffy if you like. Unless there is another place you can stay~” Playfully, he nudged Sanji in his side.

The blond huffed. “Fine, you can stay at my place.” He crossed his arms before his chest and looked away.

At that moment, Luffy entered the room. His straw hat was pushed over his eyes.

“Luffy! What are you doing here? Zoro asked as Sanji sighed.

“How does everyone always knows where we are?”

The black haired boy pushed his head back, revealing a bright grin. “Ace told me to keep a look out for suspicious figures. And boy, have we caught a suspicious looking one!”


	22. Chapter 22

“Wait, what do you mean, ‘we’?” Sanji asked confused. After all, the boy just said that _he_ had to patrol, for some reason. “You’ve gotten the cops involved?”

Luffy looked a little confused, but then started to laugh. “So, silly, I don’t know a cop. There’s me, and Nami of course, Robin, Franky, Chopper and we’ve called Brook, too! Usopp couldn’t make it, but he sent his super cool friend, Sogeking. He’s so awesome! He’s a sniper!”

Sanji frowned. Not only because of the alias Usopp had used more often, but the involvement of the ladies in something that was hardly legal. “You kidnapped someone?”

Luffy picked his nose and shrugged. “We just pulled him off the street and tied him up in our basement.”

The blond pinched the bridge of his nose. “That qualifies as kidnapping. Why didn’t you call the cops? And don’t tell me you don’t know any!” he added before Luffy could respond.

“We just figured you might want to have a go at him first,” the black haired boy answered.

“If he doesn’t, I do,” Zoro snorted. “That bastard will pay for messing up my eye.”

Luffy’s grin widened. “Let’s go then.” He all but skipped to the door. “Franky is waiting in the van.”

Sanji exchanged a look with Ace, who shrugged. He couldn’t deny that he wanted to give the culprit a piece of his mind – or rather, his foot to the face – for what he had done to the blond. The minor issue was the illegal part. Usopp was smart using a different name.

They all climbed in the van, greeted by Franky. “Yo, bros. Ready for pay back?” the blue haired man asked a little too cheerful.

“I appreciate the concern, but you don’t all have to get involved, you know,” Sanji said. “After all, we could just hand him over to the cops.”

Zoro snorted. “Yeah, ‘cause they are so competent.” With his head, he gestured to Ace, who was smiling dopily. “You don’t remember what they did to him?”

“Of course I do. But now the rush of the case seems to be over. There haven’t been any more fires that could be tied to the arsonist, were there?”

The freckled man shrugged. “I’ll have to ask Marco. Franky,” he yelled to the front of the van, “could you drop me off at the fire station? My shift isn’t over yet.”

“Sure thing, Ace-bro. Sanji, do you and Zoro want to go to Luffy’s place right away or do you want to change first?”

Sanji could see Franky’s smirk in the rear view mirror. After all, they both were still only wearing pants. He flushed a little. “Drop us off at my place. Wait a minute, you left that culprit alone with the ladies?” How had that slipped his attention?!

Franky shrugged. “That Sogeking is with them, along with Chopper and Brook is on his way. Besides, I wouldn’t underestimate Robin, she can be ruthless.”

Sanji still wasn’t happy about it, so when they had dropped off Ace, who had promised to come over as soon as he could, and the contractor parked in front of the chef’s house, the blond told Franky to go on ahead and that they would be there as soon as possible.

Inside, Sanji led Zoro upstairs – as the green haired man was already heading towards the kitchen – and got out some clean clothes. He didn’t have much which fitted the more muscular man aside from black sweat pants. The green haired man had forgotten a green overcoat at Sanji’s place a while ago, so he pulled that on as well, tying it with a red sash and the haramaki he always wore, that Sanji hardly even noticed anymore. Apparently, he had put it on before leaving his house. There was no shirt that fitted him, but at second glance, Sanji decided that that wasn’t such a bad thing. He himself put on a comfortable suit. As he was slipping into his jacket, he noticed Zoro buckle on his swords. “You taking those with you?”

“You never know when you need them,” the swordsman grunted back. “You won’t go without your legs, right?”

“That would be difficult, idiot,” the blond snapped back. “Just don’t kill him or something.”

Zoro didn’t answer, instead asking: “Why did you have my swords here, anyway?”

Sanji purposely turned around, pretending he looked in the mirror to fix his tie, to hide his blush. He didn’t want to tell Zoro that he had gotten them because they were the swordsman’s most precious possession and that holding them made him feel like Zoro was close to him as well. “Koshiro asked me to pick them up when he stayed here. To see if you took good care of them,” he lied.

“Koshiro stayed here?”

“Yes, because you insisted on being in a coma, you selfish bastard,” the blond snapped. “He didn’t want to drive all the way back, only to return the next day. So I invited him to stay over. What?!” he exclaimed when Zoro kept staring at him.

“Nothing.”

But the chef didn’t miss the small smile on his face. He flushed a little and snapped: “Just hurry your ass up before some harm comes to the ladies. That will be on your account.”

* * *

Sanji rang the doorbell at Luffy’s house. Zoro was standing behind him, looking grim. He looked even scarier without the bandages on his eye. Despite the blond’s objections, the green haired man had insisted that they were removed, so that the bastard could see what he had done. And, well, he did look more intimidating with the vertical scar over his eye. The swords helped as well.

The door was opened by Brook, who laughed his usual laugh when greeting them. “Come on in!”

“You know, Brook, you don’t have to get involved,” Sanji said carefully.

The skinny man placed a bony hand on his shoulder. “Anything to help a friend. Come on, the man is in the basement.”

Sanji exchanged a look with Zoro and followed the tall man with the afro down the stairs. Hell, he didn’t even know the D-brothers had a basement.

All the people Luffy had mentioned were present, including ‘Sogeking’, which was actually Usopp in a mask and wearing a cape, his nose giving him away. The newcomers were greeted, but Sanji didn’t pay attention, not even when Nami and Robin talked to him. All he could do was stare at the gagged man tied to a chair.

Zoro must have noticed his sudden paleness and his shaking hands that lit a cigarette, because Sanji felt a large hand placed on his shoulder. The green haired man didn’t ask anything, even though he didn’t know the suspect, but by his gesture he showed his silent support.

The blond turned to his friends. “Why did you chose this guy?” he asked disbelieving. “It’s not him. It can’t be.”

Luffy picked his nose. “He carried a jerry can and a lighter and stuff. Ace said that qualified as suspicious.”

“Sanji,” Nami asked carefully, “do you know him?”

Despite his usual manners, the blond ignored her and moved over to the gagged man in the chair, ripping the duct tape of his face with more force than necessary. “Tell me it isn’t true!” he yelled. “Say it, Gin!”

The tanned man groaned in pain and his tanned skin turned a little red where the tape had been. Still, he managed to grin up at Sanji, who was shaking in fury. “It was nothing personal, Sanji,” the tied up man answered.

The blond had to hold himself back not to kick Gin in the face. That would be hardly fair to do to a tied up man. “Not personal?! Which time? When you burned down the Baratie, tried to kill Zoro, or when you set fire to his house, where I happened to be as well?!”

Gin shrugged. “So, you know it was all me. In my defence though, it wasn’t my idea. My boss doesn’t like to hear no for an answer…”

Sanji clenched his fists. “Untie him and give him a weapon,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Oi, but Sanji,” Sogeking started, but one look from the chef shut him up.

Nami took over. “What are you planning to do?”

Sanji took a final deep breath from his cigarette, before stomping the butt out. “I’m gonna beat the shit out of him. But I won’t fight an unarmed man.”

The red haired woman looked a little doubtful, but Zoro stepped forward and started to undo the rope around Gin’s wrists, while Brook handed Sanji weapons he recognised as Gin’s, tonfas with an iron ball at the end. They had sparred often when the blond still lived with Usopp and they were evenly matched.

The blond threw the tonfas at Gin, who caught them easily. “You sure you want to do this?” the latter asked, gripping the weapons firm and taking his stance.

Sanji gave a scornful laugh. “Let’s see… You caused an innocent man to go to prison,” he launched his first kick, barely avoided by the other man, “you burned down my father’s life work,” another kick, “you almost killed my boyfriend,” this time he managed to kick Gin in the face and he fell down, but recovered quickly, “and lastly, you burned down his house, where you _knew_ he would be home. Where I was as well!” His knee connected with Gin’s stomach.

Gasping, the man scrambled to his feet. “Like I said, it wasn’t personal! Not for me, anyway. It’s my boss who made me do it!” One of his tonfas hit Sanji’s leg and the blond almost lost balance. “You see, it’s because of your dad’s restaurant, my boss went bankrupt and had to close his own place. And his investor was not happy. So, he wanted revenge.”

Sanji gritted his teeth, taking the beating of the heavy tonfas. Zeff had worked all his life to get the restaurant. When the blond was young, they started out with a small bistro, slowly expanding until they had the large and beautiful Baratie – the former one. And they lost all that because of some petty vengeance?! “You were supposed to be my friend!”

“I am! I didn’t like what I did, but I couldn’t disobey orders.” Gin ducked under Sanji’s approaching leg and hit him in the chest.

The blond stumbled back, feeling the wall hit his back. The dark haired man pinned him there, his tonfas on either side of his body. “And honestly, you do have good taste in men, if I may say so myself.” He flashed Zoro a cocky grin.

Sanji took the opportunity to kick the man in the shin. As he stepped back, grabbing at his leg, the blond kicked him in the chest, before placing his hands behind him on the floor and throwing his legs up, hitting his opponent in the chin. Gin fell backwards, with his head on the concrete floor. The tonfas fell out of his hands and he didn’t move anymore. The chef placed a foot on the man’s chest. “That kiss was a drunken accident!” he spat.

Gin didn’t respond and panicking, Chopper knelt down to check his heart rate. Relieved, he took a deep breath. “He’s just unconscious.”

Sanji huffed and turned around to study the faces of the onlookers. Nami looked quite shocked, Robin amused and Brook seemed unaffected as he sipped his tea. Franky struck a pose and yelled that Sanji was ‘SUPER’ while Luffy grinned broadly. The mask prevented Sanji from seeing Usopp’s – or rather, Sogeking’s – face, but the architect was quiet. He knew Gin as well and must have been as shocked as Sanji was upon recognising him. The blond made a mental note to ask about that later. Finally, his glance rested on Zoro. The green haired man was trying to hide his proud smirk, failing miserably, so instead he asked: “What was that all about?”

The chef shrugged. “The fight? Well, Gin and I were friends…”

“Not that, the ‘drunken mistake’ part.” Zoro scowled at him.

Sanji scratched the back of his head. “Oh, that. We, kinda, kissed? Once,” he quickly added.

Just as he said that, Ace walked into the basement, followed by Marco. The freckled man cast a glance on the unconscious man on the floor. “What happened here?”

“Sanji beat the crap out of that guy,” Luffy exclaimed happily and clapped his foots together. “You should have seen it, Ace, he’s so cool!”

The fireman turned to Sanji. “I understand your frustration, but didn’t you go a little too far?”

“I gave him all the means to defend himself,” the blond huffed. “Besides, I only went all out because I knew he could take it.”

“Wait a second, do you know him?” Ace looked disbelieving between Sanji and Gin.

“He was supposed to be my friend,” the blond answered.

“Who you made out with,” Zoro said sulking.

Sanji spun around. “Once! I was drunk and it was a long time ago!” He looked at Ace for help, immediately realising he made a mistake.

The freckled face lit up. “I knew you weren’t a stranger to male lovin’!” He hopped on the table next to his brother. “So, what’s the plan?”

“I don’t know. We have kidnapped a guy who is now unconscious in a basement.” Nami pinched the bridge of her nose. “We’re in a lot of trouble.”

Zoro huffed. “It’s not like he is innocent. Because of his actions, Ace almost went to jail, he burned down Zeff’s life work and tried to kill me twice and Sanji once.”

“So, we got the right guy? That’s good news.” Ace smirked.

Marco shot the unconscious man a nasty look. “I would have gladly done it myself.”

The freckled man snickered and hopped of the table, walking over to his boyfriend and kissing him intensely. When he let go, he turned around again. “So, we just drop him off at the police station? Sanji’s beaten the crap out of him, so I guess it’s over now.”

“Not exactly.” The blond sighed. “Gin said he was following orders. Apparently, the guy he worked for was put out of business, thanks to the success of the Baratie.”

“So, we need to go after that guy. Great,” the fireman said grinning and cracked his knuckles. “I was already a little disappointed that I couldn’t do anything. So, who are we looking for?”

He looked at Sanji, but the chef shrugged. “He didn’t mention a name.”

“Then I guess we have to wait until he wakes up,” Nami sighed.

“Not necessarily.” Sogeking stepped forward, his arms folded over his chest. Sanji was quite impressed, the man had even masked his voice, speaking in a lower tone than Usopp did. “Gin said that his boss was a restaurant owner, right? We only have to figure out which restaurant went out of business.”

“Good thinking,” Ace said with a smirk. “You must be Sogeking, right? I’m Ace.”

Sanji wondered if the freckled man was just as dense as his younger brother, but then shrugged it off. Marco would just have to explain things.

“I read in the newspaper a while ago that a restaurant called _The Grand Line_ went bankrupt,” Robin said. “I think the owner was called Krieg. Don Krieg.”

Along with Franky, Zoro placed the still unconscious Gin back in the chair and tied him up again. “What are we going to do with him?”

“For now, keeping him here. We don’t have any evidence against his boss and we just kind of kidnapped Gin,” Nami stated. “We should first find something to prove they have something to do with the fires and the attempts to murder.”

“What about the jerry can? Doesn’t that contain his fingerprints?” Brook asked.

Nami sighed. “I wish. But Gin was wearing gloves and Luffy was stupid enough to grab it with his bare hands. So we can’t use that.”

At that moment, Gin groaned and slowly opened his eyes. When he looked up, his dark eyes rested on Sanji.

The blond stared back. “Could you leave us?”

Without saying anything, his friends left the basement. Before going through the door, Sogeking placed a hand on the blond’s shoulder for a second. Then, he followed the others. Zoro hesitated for a moment, but after an encouraging look from the chef, he left as well. Sanji took a dusty chair and sat down facing Gin while lighting a cigarette. They sat in silence for a moment, when the blond asked: “Remember when we met?” Gin remained silent, so he continued: “You tried to steal food out of the dumpster behind the Baratie, when it was just a small bistro. The old man kicked you in the face.”

“But you gave me food, despite the fact I had no money,” Gin continued.

“And like every criminal, Zeff offered you a job.”

Gin gazed at the wall. “Yeah.”

“What happened to that guy? The guy that peeled the potatoes wrongly, though to this very day I still don’t understand how you can mess that up.” He looked Gin in the eyes. “What happened to my friend?”

The dark haired man avoided his gaze, staring at the floor. “I guess I got mixed up in the wrong crowd. I didn’t want to do it, but like I said, the guy I work for doesn’t take no for an answer.”

“Don Krieg,” Sanji said.

Gin looked up. “You know that?”

Sanji nodded. “I’ve friends who can get lots of information. So, to save time, where can I find your boss?”

Gin looked up, lost in thoughts for a moment. Then, he seemed to make a decision. “The boss was not happy that the Baratie was reopened.”

“He’s gonna set fire to it again?” the blond asked.

But his friend shook his head. “He is planning on taking a more direct approach. He’s targeting Zeff.”

Sanji froze, his eyes wide in horror. “What?”

“He will send someone to the restaurant, probably. I may have mentioned once that he tends to stay long after everyone has gone,” Gin added, looking guilty. “Listen, I don’t want that to happen to him. The last time I waited until he was gone and the restaurant was empty. Zeff has shown me much kindness. Please, save him.”

Sanji rose from his seat, shaking with rage. “When is this attack planned?”

Gin’s voice was hardly audible when he spoke again. “Tomorrow night.”

* * *

When Sanji came back upstairs, he found most of his friends at the table, looking at him expectantly, except for Zoro and Chopper, who both had fallen asleep on the couch. Sanji sent them a warm glance, before letting himself fall on a chair with a sigh.

“So, what happened?” Ace dared to ask.

“He told me where that Krieg guy is hiding out.” Sanji was pale and rubbed his face with the palm of his hand. “And that his boss is planning to assassinate my father.”

Several gasps sounded as they all gawked at the blond. “Why?” Franky asked finally.  
“I would assume that he was not pleased that the Baratie was reopened,” Robin said pensive and turned to Sanji. “Am I right?”

“Of course you are, my lovely angel,” the chef answered with a watery smile. He felt tired.

“Do you know when?” Ace asked.

“Tomorrow night.”

The fireman slammed his fist on the table. “Then we have to think of a plan!”

“Yosh!” Luffy exclaimed. “We need brain food. Sanji, make us some meat!”

“You guys are gonna help me take this guy on?”

Luffy snickered. “Of course!”

Sanji’s mood veered around suddenly and he actually felt like he stood a chance. He would beat the crap out of that Krieg, who made his friend turn against him and threatened his father and his boyfriend. With a genuine smile on his face, he made his way to the kitchen.

When he returned, with a large plate with several dishes – including a lot of meat – he found his friends huddled around the table, looking at a piece of paper. Zoro and a sleepy looking Chopper had joined them.

“We have a plan!” Luffy exclaimed louder than necessary, but he seemed enthusiastic.

“Oh? Well, then I suppose that you don’t need brain food?” Sanji teased. When the boy pouted and looked at him with large eyes, he chuckled and threw him a sausage, which Luffy caught in his mouth and it was gone before the chef could blink.

Sanji took a seat while the plate with food was handed around and it was considerately more empty when it reached the blond again. He took a piece of carrot himself and leaned over the sheet in the middle of the table. “So, what’s the plan then?” He recognised the lines on the paper as a map of the Baratie.

Ace cleared his throat. “Well, we assume that Zeff will be targeted when he leaves the restaurant by himself late at night. He does stay late, doesn’t he?”

Sanji nodded. “He always leaves last. That would be the best moment to take him out.” He bit his lip. While he was cooking, he had thought of calling his father, but it was rather late and he didn’t want to wake the old man. He would call him first thing in the morning to see if he was okay.

“Okay,” Ace continued. “Marco and I will take a position in the back alley. Zeff will be the most vulnerable there, so it’s the best place to make out.” He got some weird looks and laughing embarrassedly, he scratched the back of his head. “Did I say make out? I meant look out. Anyway, we will keep an eye on things from there.”

“While Ace and Marco are at the back, Sogeking and myself will be stationed at the front.” Robin pointed on the map. “In case we are wrong, Nami and Brook will keep an eye on his house.”

“But, Nami-swan, Robin-chwan, you don’t have to endanger yourself for my sake!” Sanji exclaimed.

The lawyer chuckled darkly. “You would do well not to underestimate us, Mr. Cook.”

“Anyway,” Ace quickly continued, “Franky will man the van, and Chopper will accompany him, in case of medical emergencies.”

The brown haired boy beamed of pride for having such an important task, though he made everyone promise to be careful. Franky cleared his throat. “I will provide you all with ear mikes, so we can stay in touch.”

“So, what do you think?” Ace asked proudly, like he had come up with the plan, which Sanji doubted a little.

“It sounds like you have thought of everything,” the blond said slowly. “But what will the marimo, Luffy and I do?”

The black haired boy smirked. “We’re going to take down Krieg, of course!”

* * *

The next evening, they made themselves ready. Earlier that day, Marco had determined the cause of the fire – the same way as the Baratie was burned down. That it was arson no one had doubted anyway.

After some insisting, Sanji had convinced the others to let Gin go. After all, Krieg would probably grow suspicious if the tanned man didn’t show up. Zoro had been weary, but the blond seemed to trust the guy – despite everything. Of course, they hadn’t shared their plan, but Gin had told Sanji Krieg’s hideout, so it was kind of evident that they would go there as well. The green haired man had threatened the arsonist to keep his mouth shut and he had promised to do so, but Zoro wasn’t convinced. Neither seemed Ace, Marco and Robin, but none of them had protested.

Franky cruised his van around, dropping everyone off at the place they should be. Nami and Brook were the first two, stepping out of the vehicle when Franky stopped before the – still dark – house of the elder chef. After the two had gotten out and the man with the afro had earned himself a kick in the head by Sanji after asking to see Nami’s panties, the blue haired man grabbed a walky-talky and said: “Can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear,” came the answer from the redhead, which they could all hear via they ear-microphones.

Franky smirked. “That’s SUPER! Good luck, you guys!”

The ride towards the restaurant was silent, until Sanji asked Ace and Marco: “Are you guys okay with this, by the way? After all, it’s because of Krieg that you went to jail.” He nodded at the fireman.

The freckled man shrugged. “It was because of a false testimony I almost went to prison. Of course I would love to stomp Krieg’s face in, but protecting your father is priority.”

Marco hummed, but Zoro was sure the arson inspector would twist Krieg’s neck with pleasure. The green haired man had understood from Sanji that the elder blond had been quite beaten up about Ace being in prison. He hadn’t really expected anything else, seeing how crazy Marco was about the fire fighter.

Robin, Sogeking, Ace and Marco stepped out of the van in front of the restaurant, the former giving her husband a kiss on the cheek. “Be careful, dear.”

“You too, honey. The restaurant closes in two hours, but keep your eyes open anyway!”

 

The drive to Krieg’s hideout – or supposed hideout, Zoro thought, he still didn’t completely trusted Gin or his information – took them out of the city, to an abandoned industrial zone. Franky explained one more time how the communication devices worked; you had to press the small button on the thing in their ear to be heard by everyone. Luffy was being annoying, giving updates every two minutes and of course they never consisted of anything as they were still in the van. He enjoyed himself by naming the streets they were passing, until Sogeking told him via the ear-microphone to shut up, in case someone had hacked their frequency. Then Luffy opted for naming all the kinds of meat Sanji should make him when this was over.

“Luffy! You should stay quiet now! You’re approaching enemy territory,” Ace meddled in, effectively shutting his brother up. “Good. I have to go now, Marco needs attention.” With a chuckle, the fireman’s line went silent. Zoro sighed and wondered if it was a mistake stationing those two together. He could only hope that Marco was responsible enough to keep an eye on their surroundings, because Ace sure as hell wasn’t.

The van was quiet now, save for the soft singing of Luffy’s made up meat song. Suddenly, the vehicle came to a stop and Franky turned towards them. “This is the address. Now, don’t overdo it or do anything stupid, alright? I’ll keep an eye on you via this screen,” he showed a small device with three bleeping points, “and give you instructions if necessary. Zoro, follow my directions carefully.”

Zoro growled at him. As if he would get lost!

“Alright, I know you want to beat this guy up, but remember we also need evidence linking him to the arson cases and the attempt on Zoro’s life. That’s the most important, got it?” Franky looked up from the small monitor in his hand. “Wait, where is Luffy?”

They all looked at the spot the black haired boy had occupied only a minute ago, and then to the open door of the van. Zoro cursed. “Dammit, Luffy!”

“You better go after him, Franky said worriedly. “The words ‘don’t do anything stupid’ don’t have a meaning to him.”

Sanji and Zoro scrambled out of the car and ran towards the abandoned factory, Chopper calling good luck after them.

“Zoro, now turn left,” the green haired man heard Franky say in his ear. He took a turn when he heard the man sigh. “Other left, Zoro.”

“There’s only one left!” the swordsman grouched.

“Yes, and that way ain’t it.”

He heard Nami chuckle. “The side of your earrings is left.”

He grumbled and went the other way. Franky led him to the backside of the building, to a heavy iron door. The blond was nowhere to be seen. “Sanji is following after Luffy. You gather the evidence for now,” Franky said. “This is the back entrance. Can you open the door?”

Zoro looked around until he found an iron bar and started to lever the door open. It opened with a creaking sound and Zoro hoped nobody had heard that. He pressed his finger to his ear. “I’m in.”

“Okay, be careful.”

Inside, it was dark and Zoro wished the stupid cook was here with his lighter. His depth perception had improved considerably over the days, but that was of no help if he couldn’t see anything anyway. Feeling for the wall, he made his way into the dark hallway, until he found another door. Opening it, he was surprised it wasn’t locked, but when he was met by light and some very confused faces, he understood why. In a matter of seconds, he had drawn his swords that hung fatefully on his side. The four men in the room jumped him, but he took them out without any effort. After the men lay motionless on the floor, Zoro put his swords away again and looked around the room. Nothing interesting could be found and he opened the next door.

A sudden cough made him look up. Before him, in the empty hallway Gin was standing, his tonfas in his hands. Instinctively, Zoro drew his swords, but the man gestured to put them down. “I’m not here to hurt you.”

“That’s a new one,” the green haired man spat.

Gin looked at the floor. “Okay, I deserved that. But I’m here to make amends. For Sanji’s sake. Follow me.”

“Why should I trust you?” Zoro asked suspiciously.

Gin smirked at him. “You probably shouldn’t. But I know the way around here and you are actually on your way outside again. Now, you need evidence, right? Come on.”

The green haired man still didn’t trust him, but decided to follow the guy anyway.

“Zoro?” Franky’s voice sounded in his ear, followed by some creaking noises. “Zoro, are you still there? I can’t see you anymore on the screen.”

“I’m on my way to get evidence,” the swordsman muttered with his finger pressed to his ear.

“What? Did you say something? Zoro–” Then, the line went dead.

Zoro shrugged – he wasn’t a fan of having a voice in his ear, anyway – and followed after Gin. Before a seemingly random door, the man stopped and opened it.

Inside the room behind it, Zoro saw a table standing with several papers on it and a laptop he recognised as his own.

“You were getting close,” Gin commented. “You had the footage of me at the Baratie on the night it burned down. Sanji said you lost your memory. Is it coming back?”

Zoro scratched the back of his head. He remembered looking into feuds between Zeff and other persons. The head chef was much envied because of his talents in the kitchen and his accomplishments. The private detective had talked to some former employees who had quit. The worst they had said was that the man was a hard ass, but they all seemed to admire his talent. He had also tried to identify the man in the tape of the security camera, but to no avail – though now he realised it had to be Gin, they had the same build, but that was a bit late. Looking through his notes, spread out on the table with his laptop, more memories came back. He had figured out about a restaurant going bankrupt, but before he had found out the name of the owner, the car accident had happened.

“Why did you try to kill me?” he asked, piling up his notes.

“Don Krieg told me to. He found out you were on the case and asking too many questions. Honestly, I didn’t know who you were. Sanji never mentioned your name. I found out your address and cut your brake cables. Only when you drove off I recognised you from the picture Sanji showed me.”

“You still set my house on fire,” Zoro said sharply, still looking through other papers. He found a floor plan of the Baratie and several letters addressed to Krieg, stating that the “job” was done, usually implicating an arson case. So Krieg was behind the other ones as well.

“Yes. I didn’t know Sanji would be there, but I also didn’t want to get caught. I should have left, but when I tried to ran off, your friend jumped me. He is surprisingly strong for such a scrawny kid.”

Zoro hummed in agreement, still collecting more evidence.

“Krieg wouldn’t have been forgiving if I let you alive,” Gin continued. “He is not a very pleasant man when he’s angry.”

“Why do you work for him?”

“There is no other place for a guy like me,” the dark haired man shrugged. “He is my boss, and I respect him very much. After I left the Baratie, I started to work for him. He is strict, but fair. Losing everything he had made him snap, along with the pressure placed on him by one of the investors.”

“Who?” Zoro asked. He shuffled through the papers, but didn’t see a name of an investor anywhere.

But Gin shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not even sure the boss knows, but he is afraid of him, that’s for sure. Now, you might want to hurry up and go help Sanji.”

He had hardly spoken the words, or a loud bang was heard. Zoro looked up with a jerk, as did Gin. The green haired man cursed and with the evidence under his arm, he ran towards where the noise had sounded. After running around for some time, he opened a door and came out on a balustrade – when had he gone upstairs? – looking over the main hall of the factory. Downstairs, he saw Luffy standing, his hat casting a shadow over his eyes and his fist still extended. Sanji was next to him, leg in the air, and several unconscious henchmen around them. Zoro soon found the source of the noise, as a large man released himself from the wall, having left an equally large dent. He had purple hair and was wearing some kind of armour, which had caused the dent. Despite knowing Luffy for a long time now, Zoro was still impressed by his strength.

Luffy lowered his fist. “That was for hurting my friends.”

The large man – of whom Zoro assumed it was Don Krieg – barked out a laugh. “That’s some punch you got there. But it was a lucky shot. I don’t know how you found me, but the joke is on you anyway. While you think you can fight me, one of my men has killed Zeff and there is nothing you can do!”

Zoro saw Sanji tense. They had no range here, so just like him the blond had no idea what was going on with the others. Could the rest handle the murderer? The swordsman shook his head. Of course they could.

“Gin!”

Much to Zoro’s surprise, the dark haired man appeared next to the former restaurant owner. Why was he downstairs? Surely, he must know a shortcut.

“Take out the blond,” Krieg ordered. “I’ll handle Strawhat.”

Shocked, the green haired man noted that Gin stepped forward, holding up his tonfas. “I’m sorry it has to end this way.”

Lazily, Sanji lit a cigarette. “Me too.”

With that, they stormed towards each other. Zoro knew he shouldn’t look, as he hadn’t stayed unaffected the last time he saw Sanji fight and having a boner here would be most inconvenient. Still, he felt his eye drawn to the lean blond, who was already standing on his hands, kicking his friend in the chest. Gin stumbled back on the impact, but recovered soon. Tearing his eyes from his boyfriend, Zoro focused on the other fight, between Luffy and Krieg. The latter might be strong, and he had managed to hit the boy a few times, but the black haired one was considerably faster. Even Zoro had trouble following him – though he blamed his damaged eye for that.

Luffy dashed from left to right, hitting Krieg in the chin, his shoulder and a swift kick in the back of the knee had the large man stumble. In the meantime, Luffy yelled out attack names he made up like they were in a videogame or something and Zoro couldn’t help but smile.

With Sanji and Luffy occupied, the henchmen had free reign, but the green haired man wasn’t about to allow that. He ran down the nearby stairs, placing the evidence he had gathered on the nearest flat surface and drew his swords. One after another, the henchmen fell.

Suddenly though, a movement on the balustrade caught his attention and he turned around, but before he could see anything, the lights went out.

“Krieg!” a voice sounded.

Zoro froze. He recognised that voice anywhere.

As sudden as they had gone out, the lights turned back on again. This time, however, the balustrade was not empty. A tall man was standing there. He had black hair and wore a large hat with a feather. But the most striking feature about him were his eyes. The eyes of a hawk.

“You should have checked who owned the businesses before you burned them down, Krieg,” Mihawk continued. Zoro could see the oversized sword hanging on his back.

Don Krieg froze and looked in the direction the voice came from, just as Luffy and Sanji did. Zoro knew the black haired boy would recognise the swordsman that almost killed the private detective, but the green haired man would not let the opportunity pass.

“Mihawk!” His voice echoed through the large hall.

High above him, the best swordsman in the world looked in his direction. “Roronoa,” he said slowly. “I hadn’t expected to see you here. What has it been? A year and a half? Two?”

Zoro gritted his teeth. “Fight me!”

“I’m not here for you, Roronoa. Leave now, and you might survive.” With that, Mihawk didn’t pay any more attention to him.

“Hawk-eyes!” Zoro ran towards the stairs he had descended earlier. He heard Sanji call out his name, but decided to ignore it, when he heard a bang and a cry in pain.

Turning around, he saw his lover lying on the floor and Gin slowly lowering his tonfas. At first, Zoro was afraid the blond was unconscious, but then the man lifted up his head, pain written all over his face. It surprised the green haired man that the chef didn’t get up, when he noticed the strange angle one of his legs was in.

“You better help him, Roronoa,” Mihawk’s voice sounded.

Cursing, Zoro grabbed the evidence made his way over to his boyfriend, who had managed to take out Gin with his good leg. “Luffy!” the green haired man yelled at the black haired boy who was standing over the unconscious body of Krieg. He hadn’t stopped fighting him when Zoro challenged Mihawk and had used the distraction to his advantage.

The black haired boy looked at Sanji, who nodded, and Zoro pressed the evidence in Luffy’s arms before he helped the blond to climb on his back. From the corner of his eye, he saw Mihawk squatting in the railing of the balustrade, his sword drawn and eyes looking dangerous.

With Sanji on his back, Zoro ran towards the exit, sometimes corrected by a slap on the head, courtesy of the blond, Luffy following him at his heels. Outside, Zoro pressed a finger against his ear, hoping that the frequency was working again. “Franky! Get the van here. Sanji’s hurt.”

“You guys are still alive? Hold on, I’m on–!”

The rest of his words were lost in the noise, when suddenly the building behind them collapsed. Zoro turned around, wide-eyed. Even though he knew Mihawk was the best swordsman in the world, he hadn’t expected that the man would be able to destroy a factory single-handedly. Maybe he wasn’t ready to face him yet.

The van stopped inches from them with shrieking tires and Chopper opened the side door. “Sanji! Are you okay?”

“It’s not that bad,” the blond said soothing, but once he was placed in the van, the doctor-to-be shrieked.

“Your leg’s broken!”

“It’s the marimo’s fault!”

“My fault? You were the one not paying attention to your opponent!” Zoro shot back.

“Only because you foolishly ran to your death! That was the guy, wasn’t it? That drug lord that almost sliced you in half?” Sanji spat.

“What the hell happened, you guys?” Franky asked, as he pulled the van up the road in the direction of the hospital.

“Nothing much.” Zoro looked through the rear window of the van. “The factory was just demolished by an old acquaintance.”

* * *

“Sucks about your leg, dude,” Ace said.

Sanji shrugged and moved a bit so he lay more comfortably. “It’s gonna heal eventually.”

Franky had driven them to the hospital, where a doctor, who was apparently Chopper’s guardian, had put a plated cast around the blond’s left leg, almost reaching to his hip. It hurt like hell, but it could have been worse. It was a clean break, the doctor had told him, so it would heal nicely. Then she had asked if he wanted to know how her body looked so young.

“Yeah, but still, it’s gonna complicate things.” Ace wiggled suggestively with his eyebrows.

The blond scowled at him.

“He’s saying it’s gonna be tough having sex,” Zeff said bluntly. He leaned against the wall, his arms folded before his chest.

Sanji looked at his father disbelievingly. “Shut up, old fart!” He couldn’t help blushing.

The fireman snickered, but after a deadly look from the younger chef, he shut up. The freckled man, Marco and Zeff had come to the hospital after having been picked up at the police station by Franky.

Ace had told their part of the story.

After having been dropped off, Marco and he had waited in the back alley, until they were caught by Zeff after all the other staff had gone home. The elder chef had ushered them inside and made them food, while Ace told him why they were there. Zeff had snorted and told them he didn’t need protection, but allowed them to stay nonetheless. After the man had cleaned up everything, Ace and Marco had accompanied him outside, where they were jumped by a man called Pearl, who was sent by Krieg and bragged he had never lost a drop of blood in battle. His defences were great, claiming he was nicknamed “Iron Wall”, which seemed appropriate. Ace and Marco had tried to take him out in the narrow alley and even Zeff had meddled in, but eventually, it was a projectile fired by Sogeking, who had approached after hearing some commotion, that took the giant out.

During the story, Usopp, who had suddenly appeared after Sogeking had left, looked somewhat smug.

After Pearl had been knocked unconscious, Ace had called captain Smoker to pick him up. They all had had to come to the police station, except Sogeking, who had disappeared into the night.

Apparently, Krieg had been confident that Pearl could finish the job, because the other teams hadn’t experienced anything eventful. The late night news however, had discussed the arrest of Don Krieg and Gin, who had miraculously survived the collapse, after some tainting evidence had been sent over to the police anonymously. Robin had used her connections to arrange that. So finally the culprits had gotten what they deserved, though Sanji had resolved putting in a good word for Gin when the police would talk to him.

“Usopp! You missed all the action!” Luffy exclaimed as he entered Sanji’s hospital room, back from getting snacks from the canteen. “Ace told me what Sogeking did! He was so cool! I wish I had seen him in action! Do you know where he is?”

“Sogeking is always there where he is needed,” Usopp said, a little smug and Sanji chuckled at the sparkling in Luffy’s eyes.

“Well, thank him on my behalf,” the blond said. “So, how are you? Since you knew Gin too.”

“I was a little surprised when I saw… I mean, when Sogeking told me. But I never really liked him anyway,” Usopp shrugged. “I’m more worried about you, though.”

Sanji smiled gently. “I’ll be okay. I have great friends.”

His friends laughed or smiled at him.

“Those painkillers are making you soft, cook,” Zoro said with a smirk.

“Shut up , bastard! You ruined the moment! I’ll kick your ass!”

“How would you do that with one leg in a cast, one leg?”

“I still have the other one, Cyclops!”

Robin chuckled and rose. “Come on, everyone. I think those two need some time alone.” One by one, the friends left the room.

Zeff was the last to leave, as he snorted and said: “I told you not to do anything stupid, Eggplant. But I guess I owe you a thanks.”

Sanji shrugged. “You should thank the guys for that.”

“Yeah, I guess I should. I don’t know why I thanked you in the first place, good-for-nothing.” With that, Zeff left.

The blond sighed and watched Zoro sitting next to him. “Thanks for not being stupid enough to get killed.”

The green haired man snorted. “I’ll beat him one day.”

“I know you will.” The blond caressed the green strands. “Your hair is getting longer. I like it. It’s more a lawn now than it is moss.”

“At least your eyebrow looks stupid as always!” Zoro spat back.

After exchanging insults for a while, Sanji suddenly went silent and muttered: “You know, you don’t have to go look for a new place if you don’t want to, Moss-head.”

The swordsman looked at him surprised. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

“As if! You better pay rent!”

“So, you’ll be my landlord?” Zoro asked smirking.

“Why do you make everything sound dirty, perverted plant?”

The green haired man grinned. “I know for a fact that several furniture have to be christened because some prude cook doesn’t want to have sex outside the bedroom. I’ll be looking forward to assist you.”

“You’ll have to wait, horny bastard! Ace was right, my leg is gonna complicate things,” Sanji said pensive.

Zoro smirked. “We’ll think of something.” And he leaned in, pressing his lips against the blond’s.


	23. Epilogue

“We also need some eggs, Marimo.”

Together with his boyfriend, Sanji made his way through the supermarket. It had been four weeks since they had had their fight with Don Krieg and his men, but the blond’s leg was still wrapped in plaster. It was annoying, for several reasons, but right now it was because he couldn’t push the trolley and had to leave it to Zoro, who insisted on going into the wrong aisle. Sanji could only sigh and lead the way while leaning on his crutches.

They were now living together at Sanji’s place after Zoro’s house had burned down. Most of the green haired man’s stuff was destroyed, including furniture and clothes, but fortunately, he had received insurance money to compensate.

They stopped in front of the egg section – after somehow having passed the bread section twice, the blond had no idea how Zoro managed to do that – and Sanji picked out a large box. After he had checked them for cracks, he smiled and looked at his grocery list. “Alright, next is milk. Why don’t you get it, while I wait here. If you can manage that much.”

Zoro scowled at him. “I don’t see why you insisted in coming if you’re only using me as an errant boy.”

“Because last time I let you go alone, you were gone for two days and _still_ managed to bring the wrong groceries. Now I can only lose you in the store… Though, seeing how you led us here, I wouldn’t be surprised if you ended up on the other side of town.”

“What did you say, shit cook?!” The green haired man grabbed him by his collar.

“Sanji?” a voice interrupted their fight.

The blond froze in his place. He would recognise that angelic voice anywhere. Quickly falling back in his old habits, he twirled around with his arms spread out. “Conis-chwan~!” Behind him, he could hear Zoro snort, but ignored it in favour of the beautiful lady.

The woman behind him chuckled. “It’s good to see you again. Oh, what happened?” she asked when she noticed his leg, until the thigh in plaster.

He looked down. “Oh, I had a little accident. Nothing to worry about, my dear.” He smiled at her. “So how have you been?”

“I’m okay. Actually, I–” She stopped mid-sentence when Zoro rudely started to cough.

“Ah, I’m sorry. Conis-chwan, meet the marimo. Marimo, this is Conis.”

“That’s not my name, Curly Brow!” the green haired man snapped at him, but then his expression changed. “Wait… Didn’t she dump your sorry ass?”

Sanji scowled at him. “We dated for a while, yes,” he spat. “Now be polite, shitty Moss-head!”

He should have known that the bastard was up to no good when that shitty smirk appeared on his face. He grabbed the back of Sanji’s head and roughly smashed their lips together. For a moment, the chef was too stunned to react, even after the swordsman had let go of him.

Zoro smirked at Conis. “Thanks for dumping him.”

The blond snapped out of his daze, furious. “What the hell, you shitty swordsman! Don’t catch me off guard like that and don’t ever try that again in front of a lady!” Using his plastered leg, he kicked the marimo bastard in the head. “Now go get the damn milk!”

Snickering, Zoro left them alone. Sanji’s cheeks were flushed, as were Conis’. “I’m sorry about that,” he muttered, scratching the back of his head embarrassedly.

“It’s okay. I just didn’t know you were…”

“Me neither. Until I met him…” Sanji sighed. “It’s complicated.”

“You seem very happy.”

He looked up surprised. “Do I? Well, I guess I am. Just don’t tell that smug bastard.”

She smiled at him. “I won’t. I heard the restaurant has reopened as well. Sounds like things are finally picking up for you. I’m glad to see you smile again.”

“Likewise.”

“Conis, are you coming?” a female voice called. Sanji looked up and saw a black haired woman with a trolley, looking like she was waiting.

“I’ll be right there, Laki!” She turned to the blond again. “I have to go, but I hope we can meet again soon?”

“Of course, my angel.” He wrapped his arms around her as she pulled him into a hug.

When they let go, Sanji turned around to see Zoro standing with the milk. “There you are, Marimo. Didn’t get lost this time?” he teased as he waved at Conis.

The green haired man scowled at him, but didn’t respond, much to the blond’s surprise. However, when he saw the carton, Sanji couldn’t help but sigh. “Dammit, shitty swordsman. You got the wrong one again!”

* * *

On the way home, Zoro kept quiet. Sanji frowned, but didn’t comment on it. They had gotten the right kind of milk and paid at the register, where Sanji couldn’t help but flirt a little with the female cashier. Usually, Zoro would call him an idiot and pick a fight, distracting the blond from the lady in question, but nothing came today.

When they got home, the blond started to sort out the groceries. For the lower cabinets he had to bow down awkwardly, so he called the swordsman for help. “Oi, give me a hand here, Moss-head.”

Again, Zoro did as he was asked, without saying a word. Sanji frowned. “What’s with you suddenly? I’m sure one day you’ll get the right milk in one go,” he added jokingly, hoping it would lure out a reaction.

Zoro just grunted and left the kitchen again. Annoyed about being ignored for the umpteenth time, Sanji marched out of the kitchen as much as his crutches allowed. “Oi, shithead. Answer me!”

“Why the hell do you care? I don’t have boobs I could use as a table!” the green haired man snarled.

Sanji was taken aback a little for a moment. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“What the hell do you think?! Your ex in the store! You were awfully friendly with her.” Zoro crossed his arms before his boobless chest.

For a moment, all Sanji did was stare at him. Then, without saying a word, he turned around and entered the kitchen again. The green haired man watched him go and sighed. Maybe he made too big of a deal out of this. But despite Sanji’s annoying flirtatious behaviour around women, he never _touched_ them. So seeing him hugging a woman, his _ex_ no less, something snapped.

Despite the fact that they were living together, they didn’t see much of each other lately. As soon as he was allowed to walk, Sanji started working again, leaving in the morning and coming home late. After losing his office, Zoro decided giving up being a private investigator and started the police academy. Both worked long hours, so they always went to bed exhausted. In fact, they hadn’t had sex since Sanji broke his leg and kissing was rare as well. And him being denied to touch his cook, but a random blonde could? No way.

Still, he shouldn’t have made Sanji mad. After all, this was the rare time they both had the day off, so they should enjoy being together. Though fighting with Sanji was usually enjoyable, that only was the case when it came to physical fighting. Not the cook refusing to talk to him.

He was debating going into the kitchen to apologise, when the blond came out again, balancing a tray with two plates on it on one hand, while he used the other to lean on his crutch. With a smack, he sat the plates down on the table. “Eat,” he snapped.

Zoro stared at the plate in front of him. He had learned a long time ago that the greener the food, the more he had been on the cook’s mind while he made it. Right now, he was looking at a green curry with green peas and green beans. The chicken in it was greenish due to the curry. It surprised Zoro that the cook hadn’t add green food colouring through the rice.

It was save to say that the blond was very, very pissed.

While he was eating, Sanji didn’t say a word, so Zoro decided not to either. The blond would explode sooner or later anyway and he rather died with a full stomach.

Despite his anger, Zoro saw the thinking expression on Sanji’s face, tasting the food and making mental notes what to change next time. He never understood what or how his lover did it, but every time it tasted better than the last – even if he didn’t think it could be better the first time.

Finally, Sanji placed his fork and knife on his plate and his blue eyes flicked up to Zoro. The anger was evident and the green haired man swallowed involuntarily.

“You’ve got some fucking nerve, you know that? You know what I went through before I could admit that I was attracted to you. What the hell are you even accusing me off? Being nice? Fuck you! I’m going to take a shower.” With that, Sanji left the room, without looking back.

Sighing, Zoro picked up the dishes and walked to the sink. He didn’t get the chance to say something back, so he could better wait until the blond had cooled off a bit.

Slowly, he started doing the dishes. Sanji had cleaned up most of the mess already, as he always did, so there wasn’t much to do except wash the pans and plates.

While he was rinsing the last plate with hot water, a loud bang sounded from upstairs. His eyes widened in shock, Zoro barely remembered to turn off the tap before he ran up the stairs, his hands still wet. Out of breath, he knocked on the door of the bathroom. “Sanji. Oi! Are you okay?”

The door wasn’t locked, so he opened it. The blond was lying naked on the floor with a painful look in his face, his plastered leg half covered by the plastic bag that should protect it against the water and the shower already running.

“I’m fine. Stupid leg,” he muttered.

“Let me help you.”

Sanji scowled at him, but didn’t protest when Zoro lifted him up on the toilet seat he had fallen off. The green haired man pulled the bag up and tied the string around Sanji’s leg, tight enough that the water couldn’t get in, but not so tight it would pinch off the blood flow.

“Why are you suddenly so insecure, anyway?” the blond asked softly.

Zoro sighed, but didn’t look up from his task. “I’m just… frustrated, I guess. You never touch girls, so seeing you hug her like that… We hardly see each other lately.”

Sanji looked at him and sighed. “Idiot Marimo.”

Zoro helped him stand up, but much to his surprise, Sanji wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. It was slow, but the swordsman’s brain wasn’t fully functioning yet. Still, he opened his mouth when Sanji demanded entrance.

The blond’s hands roamed his body, lifting up his shirt and they only parted to fully pull off the fabric. Sanji gave Zoro a teasing smile before he disappeared behind the shower curtain. A pale hand poked out and a slender index finger beckoned him closer.

Zoro’s eyebrows shot up and he had never undressed faster in his life. He jumped into the shower and pinned Sanji against the tiled wall, hardly noticing the hot water hitting his skin. Sanji chuckled, but wrapped his arms around his lover anyway and kissed back passionately.

Zoro moved his lips to Sanji’s slender neck and enjoyed the feeling of the blond arching his back so their bodies made more contact. “I do know what you went through,” he muttered against the pale skin. “’m Sorry.”

“Shitty swordsman,” the chef mumbled before he pulled Zoro’s head back up to kiss his lips again.

Zoro hadn’t realised how much he had missed his shit cook until now. Sure, he had trained and meditated a little more often with the lack of other physical activities, but Sanji hadn’t been around much, so no temptation, but now that he had his lover here, hot and wet, he wanted nothing more than to be inside him and showing him how much he missed him. His hands wandered to the blond’s lower back, cupping his ass and looking at him questioningly.

Sanji pulled him back in a heated kiss, which Zoro took as a yes. He pulled away the shower curtain and jumped out from the hot spray, uncaring how he made the floor and their clothes that were still scattered around, wet. He looked over his shoulder. Sanji was still standing against the wall the green haired man had pinned him against, holding himself upright by the handle they had installed after Sanji broke his leg. His cheeks were stained with a flush that wasn’t just caused by the warm water that still ran over him and his excitement was clearly visible.

Hastily, Zoro rummaged through a drawer until he found the small bottle of lube they kept there. He only noticed how cold he was when he pulled the curtain close behind him and Sanji’s heated body pressed against him.

Zoro sank to his knees, looking up to the blond’s flushed face before he took his lover’s erection in his mouth. With one hand, he opened the bottle of lube and poured some on his fingers, using Sanji’s body as a field against the water, so the lubricant wouldn’t wash away. While he worked the chef with his mouth, he pressed the first finger inside. Above him, Sanji moaned, but the blond did have the sense to readjust the shower head so it wasn’t spraying in Zoro’s face anymore. Next, he almost pulled it off the wall when the green haired man started moving his finger.

Even though it had been a while since they had sex, Sanji’s body seemed to welcome him with open arms. Soon, Zoro could add a second and a third finger, which was a good thing, because he was getting impatient. Hearing his boyfriend make noises like that made it harder and harder to concentrate on his task, no matter how enjoyable it was. He could feel the blond’s stagger for a moment and he decided it was enough. Letting go of his lover’s erection, he rose again, only allowing a few seconds without any contact.

Sanji pulled the bottle of lube from his hands and coated the green haired man’s cock, thicker than usual because the water washed part of it away. Zoro noted that the blond’s knuckles of the hand he used to keep himself up were white.

Lifting the chef a little to gain easier access, he finally pushed inside the paler body with a satisfied groan. Slender hands made their way up his neck and entangled with his hair. Zoro lifted him higher and Sanji let go of the handle, entirely leaning on the swordsman now. He wrapped his healthy leg around the green haired man’s body, his broken one poking out of the shower curtain, but neither of them cared if the bathroom became wet — or wetter, after Zoro’s action from earlier.

The green haired man made sure he was standing steady when he pulled out, only to push back in again. Sanji let out a pleasured sigh and the swordsman repeated his action. Neither of them felt the hot water on their heated skin anymore as they moved in rhythm. From this position, there wasn’t much Sanji could do, but still his wiggling added to their pleasure. Zoro pressed his forehead against the blond’s. Sanji was being sandwiched between him and the wall, but the chef hardly minded.

The swordsman could hear his lover pant in his ear and he himself wasn’t in a better state. As much as he wanted to prolong it as long as he could, Zoro could feel that he was close. He adjusted his position a bit so he could free a hand to start stroking his lover’s cock, but thanks to his changed position, the shower took care of that for him. The small sprays hit the sensitive skin and it only took a few seconds before Sanji started to squirm. His body clenched around Zoro’s erection, making it almost impossible to keep up his rhythm. The swordsman managed a few more thrusts before he couldn’t hold back anymore. Whispering Sanji’s name in the blond’s ear, he came.

They both needed a moment to catch their breath. Zoro leaned with his forehead against his lover’s, his eyes closed and smiling.

After a while, Sanji gave him a push against his chest and the green haired man took the hint. He pulled out, placing the blond back on his own feet – or rather, foot. Sanji’s leg gave in and Zoro could catch him just in time. “Careful now,” he grinned, “we wouldn’t want you to break your other leg as well.”

“Shut up,” Sanji replied and grabbed the shampoo bottle. “You know,” he continued as he squirted some of the substance on his hands and started to massage it onto Zoro’s scalp, “I notice all the things you do since I broke my leg and I do appreciate them, you know.”

The swordsman hummed, enjoying the feeling of Sanji’s nimble fingers on his head. It was as close as he would get to a thank you.

The blond pushed his head under the spray to rinse out the shampoo and Zoro closed his eyes to prevent it from dripping in his eyes. For a moment, the green haired man could feel Sanji’s finger tracing the scar over his eye.

“I love you.”

When Zoro opened his eyes again, Sanji was busy opening the bottle of conditioner and pretending really hard he didn’t say anything just now.

Zoro smirked. “Love you too, Curly-brow.”

* * *

After their little adventure in the shower, Sanji and Zoro made sure that they made time for each other more often. Whether it was going on a date, stay at home and watch a movie or having sex, at least now they saw each other on a regular basis.

Two weeks later it was time for Sanji’s plaster to be removed, despite him ignoring doctor’s orders and kicking the crap out of his asshole of a boyfriend when he deserved it. His leg felt a little weird, but the doctor assured him if he used it normally – but not excessively – it would go back to normal.

Right now, however, not using his leg excessively was the last thing on his mind. He was planning dinner tonight, as they had invited Koshiro to come over to be properly introduced, under better circumstances. And for some reason it had seemed like a good idea to invite Zeff as well, so the fathers could become acquainted. Sanji was sure he had acted in a fit of madness, because it was _never_ a good idea to invite Zeff to _anything_. However, it had happened and as Zoro was a useless bastard, the planning, preparing and cooking all rested on the blond’s shoulders.

Said useless bastard was lying lazily on the couch. “Quit fussing, would ya? You already met Koshiro, so what’s the big deal?”

Sanji stopped mid-pacing. “That time I had other things on my mind, since you were in a coma. Which I’m going to kick you back into if you don’t move your ass and get some more eggs from the store.”

Zoro got up and snickered. “You’re so cute.”

“Fuck off!”

“Not right now.” Zoro pulled the struggling Sanji next to him on the couch and started kissing him. Slowly, the resistance faded away and the blond gave in. He allowed himself to be kissed, but after a while he stopped his boyfriend by placing a hand on his chest. “But what if he doesn’t like me?”

“Then I’m afraid we’ll have to break it off.” Zoro stared at him with a serious face for a moment before sighing. “Will you lighten up already? Koshiro’s already met you and he’s a good judge of character. Though that might mean you’re in trouble,” he added with a smirk.

“Shut up, shitty Moss-head!” Sanji dove on top of him, glad that he could bend both legs again to pin his boyfriend down. “You’re only this calm because you’re at the same level as the shitty old fart and you can conspire against me.”

Zoro let his hands run up the blond’s strong upper legs. “Just sit down and look pretty and everything will be fine. As soon as you open your mouth, however…” He was kind of surprised his neck wasn’t snapped like a twig.

* * *

The doorbell rang and immediately, Sanji started to fumble with his clothes again. “How do I look?”

The green haired man observed him a little too intensely, but just when the blond was about to yell at him, he tapped against his temple. “You got something here.”

“Why would there be anything–” Sanji was actually reaching up when he saw the smirk on his boyfriend’s face. “Are you talking about my eyebrow, you shitty bastard?!”

Snickering, Zoro dove under his leg. “Easy now, we have company.” And he opened the door.

Sanji immediately lowered his leg again when he recognised the elderly man with the glasses. “Ah, please come in, Mr…”

Koshiro raised his hand. “Like I said last time, call me Koshiro. Or sensei,” he added as he made his way into the living room.

Sanji was about to follow him, when Zoro stopped him. “Will you get that stick out of your ass?” To emphasise his words, he slapped the blond’s butt before entering the living room.

Sanji decided not to kill him – for now – and went to the kitchen to make tea. When he came back, Koshiro was sitting on the couch, with Zoro next to him. Noticing the blond, the elder man looked up from their conversation and smiled friendly. “So I understood that your father will be joining us too?”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Sanji muttered as he placed the teapot and the cups on the coffee table.

Koshiro raised an eyebrow. “What for? I’d be delighted to meet him.”

“He can be a little… difficult to deal with.” It was tempting to start a rant about the shitty old bastard, but the colourful language he would have to use would probably not be appreciated. So he just took a seat and picked up a cup. “He is working today, so he’ll be joining us around dinner time.”

Koshiro nodded and an awkward silence fell in the room. Not knowing what to say, Sanji pretended to take a long sip from his tea. It would have been better if Koshiro had been a woman. If there was something he could do, it was talk to women. With men, however, he never knew quite what to say and Zoro wasn’t really helping. And he was trying so hard to make a good impression!

“So, I hear the restaurant is back in business,” Koshiro helpfully offered.

Sanji perked up. The restaurant, that he could talk about. He started telling about their new place and he was so engrossed with his story, he hardly noticed it when Zoro got up to refill the teapot until the green haired man placed his hand on the blond’s leg for a moment.

When Zoro came back, the topic changed to him joining the police academy. Sanji had to admit that it was a pleasant afternoon, though it disturbed him a little that there was no yelling. Both the blond and the swordsman didn’t piss each other off like usual. Despite Zoro telling him he didn’t have to behave any differently around the elder swordsman, the green haired man himself was slightly politer than usual as well. It shocked the chef a little that the marimo was capable of that, but he realised Koshiro was his old sensei, so he must have a lot of respect for the man. But it was nice to have a pleasant conversation like this. Sanji dreaded the arrival of his old man.

Zeff arrived when Sanji had excused himself to start dinner – insofar he hadn’t prepared it beforehand. The blond could hear the gruff voice in the hallway despite the cooker hood being on. Quickly, he washed his hands and not even bothering to take off his pink apron, he hasted himself to the living room to prevent direct contact between Koshiro and the old fart without his supervision.

“Eggplant,” the elder chef greeted him gruffly.

“Old man,” Sanji said in the same tone.

“Koshiro.” The elder man held out his hand to Zeff.

“Zeff.”

“Marimo,” Sanji growled dangerously when he saw that Zoro had trouble holding back his laughter.

The green haired man straightened. “Curly-brow.”

Again, a silence filled the room until Zeff sniffed the air. “Are you burning something, string bean?”

“Of course not, shitty old…” He trailed off and brusquely turned around to march to the kitchen.

Zeff folded his arms before his chest and huffed. “What’s the matter with him? Why’s he got a stick up his ass?”

Zoro chuckled. “I said the same thing. But he’s desperate to make a good impression.” He looked at Koshiro.

“I can hear you, you damn Marimo! Now get your butt here and do something useful for once!” Sanji’s voice sounded from the kitchen.

“I was wondering when that famous temper I heard so much about would show,” the elder swordsman said smiling as Zoro hurried to the kitchen.

Zeff huffed again. “I do wonder where he gets it from though…”

* * *

The evening progressed more pleasantly than Sanji had expected, though he did lose his temper more than once, but so did Zoro and Zeff. During dessert, it went even as far that the two blond’s had to be separated, but in all, it went well.

When Sanji went outside into the garden for an after dinner smoke, he was surprised to be joined by Koshiro. He looked at his cigarette. “Does it bother you? I can put it out…”

But the elder swordsman waved his words away. “If I was here for the fresh air, I would have stepped out the front door. You can relax around me, you know.”

Sanji didn’t respond, instead took a long drag from his cigarette.

“Zoro isn’t the easiest person to be around,” Koshiro suddenly said. “He never was, but after Kuina’s death, he started to shut everyone out. He doesn’t make friends easily, aside from Luffy, so I was surprised to hear about some blond he had helped out.”

Sanji looked up, his eyebrow raised.

“He tried to hide it, but it was pretty obvious he was smitten.” Koshiro smiled. “He doesn’t tell me much, but he doesn’t have to. I know he isn’t into women for a long time, probably even before he realised it himself.”

“He was pretty slow in figuring that out,” Sanji muttered.

The elder man smiled again. “He usually doesn’t care much if he’s in a relationship or not. I never met any of the people he went out with, but none of them were long term anyway. Zoro cherishes his friends and that seemed to be enough for him, until you came along.”

The blond took another drag.

“I can’t tell you how happy it makes me that you return his feelings. I saw how much it ate you up when he was in that coma. So you can stop trying to impress me – though dinner was delicious – because I know you care deeply about him too.” He smiled and placed a hand on Sanji’s shoulder. “All I want is for him to be happy and no matter how strange your relationship may seem to the outside world, I know he is. So you have my blessing.”

* * *

Zoro looked up when Zeff flopped next to him on the couch. “It’s good to see you running around again, Grasshopper,” the latter remarked.

Inadvertently, Zoro touched the scar over his eye. It didn’t hurt anymore, but according to the doctor he would never be able to see again. He didn’t mind that much, he could still swordfight as soon as he got used to it and the bonus was that he looked even more intimidating than before.

“Yeah,” he replied.

“You’ve given the eggplant quite a scare, you know. He even dared to accuse me of being responsible.” The chef huffed.

A smirk tugged at his lips. “So I assume you kicked that idea right out of him?”

“Damn straight.” Zeff plucked his braided moustache. “You listen to me, boy. Admitting he had feelings for you was the hardest thing the eggplant ever had to do, so you better not screw this up, you hear me? Hurt him and I will shove my foot so far up your ass you will never walk without a limp again.” There was a moment of silence. “This conversation never happened.” With that, the chef made his way to the kitchen like he owned the place.

* * *

Sanji brought two glasses of wine into the living room and tiredly flopped down on the couch after handing Zoro one. Koshiro and Zeff both had left, the former had to attend a kendo tournament in a nearby city in the morning, so he stayed there in a hotel.

“So, that didn’t go horrible,” Zoro said as he wrapped an arm around his boyfriend.

“I suppose it could have been worse.” Sanji smirked. “I got his blessing.”

“Really? I got a threat to have a foot shoved up my ass.”

The blond chuckled. “You have the worst in-law here. Good luck with that!”

“And whose fault is that, hm?” Zoro climbed on top of him and started to kiss him.

Sanji laughed, but suddenly cursed when his wine spilled over the edge of his glass onto the marimo’s shirt. “Fuck.”

“Huh.” The green haired man tried to see the stain on his back, but despite the fact that his shirt was ruined, he chuckled. “Doesn’t that bring back memories.”

It did, as it reminded the blond of the night they met, when he had done the same thing, but that night he was drunk and had offered Zoro the green haired man’s shirt the blond was wearing at the time, which had led to… other events. He flushed. “Just take it off and I’ll get the stain out, Marimo.”

Zoro rose and did what he was told, though he did it slowly and teasingly, and Sanji couldn’t help but enjoy the show. Once the shirt was tossed at him and all those nice abs were revealed, the blond took one longing look before he remembered his task. In the kitchen, he poured some white wine over the stain to neutralise the red colouring in the wine and after that, he went upstairs to wash the wine out of the shirt.

When he was done with the stain, he went downstairs again. “After washing, your shirt will be as good as ne– Woah!”

Before he could finish his sentence, he was pulled onto the rug and straddled by a very naked Zoro. He considered complaining, but then decided against it. Not that he had much choice in the matter when hungry lips were pressed against his own. Despite everything, Sanji couldn’t help but chuckle and as the swordsman’s lips moved to his jaw, he said: “I’m starting to think you made me spill my wine on purpose.”

Zoro hummed. “It just brought back memories.”

Sanji’s eyes flicked over to the fireplace and a smirk appeared on his face. “I’m not drunk now, though.”

“Now you don’t need to be.” Zoro started kissing him again.

Sanji wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s neck and moaned pleased. His shirt was unbuttoned in the blink of an eye – Zoro had become very good at that and didn’t even rip off any buttons anymore, though Sanji had made him reattach many of them while he was still practising – and impatient hands undid his pants.

Sanji’s hands slid along the swordsman’s thighs, loving the feeling of hard muscles beneath them. Suddenly, Zoro moved away and Sanji was about to complain when the man returned with a bottle of lube. He took his seat again on the blond’s lap and Sanji took over the bottle of lube while the green haired man attacked his lips again. The chef coated his fingers with the lubricant, spilling some of it on the carpet, which he didn’t particularly care about right now, and brought his hand to Zoro’s back.

The swordsman flinched for a moment when the cold fingers entered him, but relaxed soon enough. After Sanji was done prepping and teasing him – taking longer than necessary to get Zoro all flushed and on the verge of begging – the blond pulled his fingers out and the green haired man lifted himself to give Sanji a chance to lube his cock and align himself before Zoro lowered his body again. When he was fully sheathed, he slowly started to roll his hips.

They tried out this position when Sanji’s leg was still in a cast, because it meant the blond didn’t have to do much – though he tried – and his leg wasn’t stuck awkwardly in the air as when Zoro fucked him. The blond was quite fond of the position, as it gave him a nice view of Zoro’s flustered face, pleasure written all over it, his abs contracting and relaxing with every move. He reached up to pull the green haired man close, their tongues intertwining when they deepened the kiss.

Sanji could feel the other’s movements becoming erratic and he reached between them to stroke him to completion. Zoro’s body started to shake and Sanji snapped up his hips a few times until he was in the same state.

The green haired man collapsed on top of him, his heavy breath blowing against his neck. “Oi, Marimo, don’t fall asleep on me like this.” He knew his lover all too well.

Zoro hummed and rolled off of Sanji, causing the blond to flinch when he was pulled out. Zoro rolled onto his back, lying close to the fire. “Fuck, I think I have rug burns on my shins.”

Sanji let out a laugh. “I’ve got them on my ass. This was your idea, anyway.”

“Didn’t think you’d let me. You yelled for half an hour when I dropped my plate onto the rug.”

“Because it was laden with spaghetti in tomato sauce! You know how hard it is to remove those stains?” Sanji sighed and shook his head. “But you were right, it did bring back memories.”

Zoro didn’t respond, but slipped his hand into Sanji’s as they lay next to each other on the rug, the fire keeping them warm.

They had come a long way since that first night when Sanji had become drunk and the green haired man had ‘relieved’ him in front of the fireplace in his house. That night Sanji had thought it was the worst night of his life, with his girlfriend breaking up with him, the Baratie burning down, his stolen wallet, the rain…

He noticed the soft tapping against the glass and smiled when he realised it was raining now as well. Yes, all that time ago, he had thought he hit rock bottom. Only now he realised he hit the jackpot that night. He had met Zoro, the person who had changed his life.

“What are you smiling about?” the green haired man asked a little suspiciously,

“Nothing.”

Like hell he was going to tell the marimo that.

 

End


End file.
